I have now started a dairy and gluten free diet, in preparation to my next raw food challenge. As usual, I am writing a diary of how this experiment goes.
I can't say yet for sure, but it seems that I start feeling weak when I eat white flour (or possibly gluten), and I also get bloated and a puffy face. It definitely affects my blood sugar levels, which, in turn, can make me anxious or irritable.
Some processed cheese, on the other hand, seems as if it may be making me dizzy.
The real purpose of this experiment is not only to see if these symptoms get improved on a gluten and dairy free diet, but also - especially - to see if my sinuses clear, cough goes away, and if my allergy symptoms get improved.
Read also the related article: Gluten Free Diet Benefits
Jump to: Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
Jump to chapter:
Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
Ending the Diet
2017 Update
Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
I have been preparing for my next raw food challenge and realized on the way that there are many health issues that it's very useful to address in advance of beginning a raw food diet. These are, especially, mineral deficiencies, food intolerances, and allergies. In addition, I am experimenting with the health benefits of drinking living water and general detoxification. Follow the links for more information.
You can also read about my journey to health in time order here:
"My Natural Healing Journey."
More on these recent developments in my health at the "My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary" -section below.
I am going on a gluten free diet for the following reasons:
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
Jump to chapter:
Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
Ending the Diet
2017 Update
Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
Basically I am going dairy free pretty much for the same reasons that I am going gluten free. Most, if not all, of the dairy is very difficult for the body to digest and it is the number one quoted reason for mucous build-up in the body. Read more on my other article here: "Benefits of Quitting Dairy"
I did a test-run of a gluten-free diet for a few days (Mon 5th - Fri 9th Nov 2012) in advance of starting the real trial. I was surprised to find that I got a bad headache for the first two days of being gluten-free! I also got flu-like symptoms.
To combat the headache and the tiredness, I fell back into drinking green tea at work, having previously been caffeine-free continuously for more than a month. The caffeine seemed to lessen the symptoms a little bit.
After five days of dairy- and gluten free, my eyes started to look a little bit brighter and the congestion in my throat and nose was starting to clear up a little bit.
The following weekend, the sixth-day, I went back to eating both dairy and gluten, although I must admit that my enthusiasm to those substances was already a bit weakened! Then the following Thursday I got a proper cold for six days in total, which I am just coming out of when writing this. It is Tuesday 20th November today.
I would normally do Bob Beck's blood electrification and drink silver colloids (both cheap home cures) to get rid of a cold quickly but this time I thought that it would be good to let the immune system defend itself without any help. And it is possible that the cold was somehow connected to the clear-out of dairy and gluten congestion (although very unlikely since the symptoms didn't ease after eating these).
I took two enemas last Saturday - a salt-water and coffee one - because I thought my system may be overloaded with trying to detoxify from dairy and gluten, while also battling a cold and being on a period (menses).
Something to report, also, is that I have been supplementing with chromium for two weeks now, having started two days before the test-run on a dairy- and gluten-free diet. I self-diagnosed a chromium deficiency based on the information on this article: Marysherbs.com: "Science of Iridology".
I also finally got a live spring-water delivery to my house, which I am very excited about! I use a company called 'Cool Water Enterprises'. Their water comes from a spring in Wales.
I also, finally, after four years of drinking smoothies, bought myself a Vitamix! It saves time compared to the small blender I had before but it may also release more nutrients from some of the vegetables (as is claimed on Vitamix website, and by Dr. Fuhrman: supposedly the cell-walls of the plant get broken down which allows for a better availability of nutrients).
[Later notes: I later found out that my cough was linked to acid reflux and the difficulty in digesting foods.
Also, I have now learned from Dr. Robert Morse that it is useful to try to move the lymph while detoxing from dairy and other toxins. He recommends certain herbs, a cleansing raw food or high-fruit diet, etc. to speed up the clearing of lymphatic congestion.]
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
Jump to chapter:
Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
Ending the Diet
2017 Update
Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
3rd December 2012
Today was my first day gluten and dairy free (after the five-day test trial mentioned above). Below is a list of what I ate today... but I also want to mention that tomorrow I am going to get a live blood analysis done and I am quite excited about it. More on this after I receive actual results and have something to report.
I have also sent off a hair sample for mineral and heavy metal analysis, results of which should come back in 2-3 weeks.
Breakfast: A smoothie with a banana, mixed frozen berries, mixed leaf lettuce, linseeds (flax seeds), pumpkin seeds, live spring water, as well as the C-vitamin and chromium supplement capsules emptied into the mix.
Snacks at work: two green teas, pink grapefruit juice, fennel tea.
Lunch: Cooked quinoa with lots of fresh coriander, raisins, pine nuts, cashew nuts, chopped dried apricots, pickled artichoke hearts, nutritional yeast, grated apple, poppy seeds, and sauce, which was mixed with the quinoa: olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, thai green curry paste.
Dinner: Gluten and dairy free creamy mushroom sauce with rice noodles with some white wine mixed with sparkling water. This dish was delicious. Go to "Benefits of Quitting Gluten" for recipe.
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
Jump to chapter:
Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
Ending the Diet
2017 Update
Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
Wednesday, 5th December 2012
Third day on gluten- and dairy-free diet. I was feeling quite ill this morning, remains of the cold I had a little while back [later note: more likely a gluten withdrawal symptom]. I felt better in the evening.
I went to a live blood analyst/ nutritionist yesterday and found out a lot about my blood. It was quite a shocking experience! She found so many problems and gave me quite strict dietary advice and supplementation suggestions to improve the cough I have, my energy levels, and other health issues. Here is the report on my live blood test results. I must say the visit was fascinating and I learned so much - but I was a bit shocked also. Didn't expect my blood to be that bad!
The dietary advice I received included continuing to be wheat and dairy free, although she said raw dairy would be fine, and gave me lots of links to sites on the internet to order it from. So I will continue being completely dairy- and gluten-free for now, and later will assess whether I might add raw dairy into my diet or not.
Originally the plan was to also not eat eggs during this trial but I may add organic eggs in, since the naturopath thought it is important for me to get a lot of protein. Haven't decided yet, have a bit of work to do to understand and interpret the treatment plan I received first. But more on this exciting new turn on my health journey soon.
I have also ordered a hair-mineral analysis, whose results should arrive in 1-2 weeks. This will allow me to compare the two plans and get a much clearer understanding of my health and underlying conditions. The approaches of these two practitioners are very different so hopefully they complement each other well.
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
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Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
Ending the Diet
2017 Update
Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
27th December 2012
I fell off the diet soon after the last diary note due to the holiday season obligations, but also partly because of the confusion that the live blood analysis report caused. The findings required some amount of research before I felt I understood them and before I could commit to a clear diet plan.
I have by now also received the hair mineral analysis report, and am currently going through a similar research process in relation to that.
Both reports, however, emphasized the importance for me to stay away from wheat, as well as dairy. I will continue my research and restart the diet after the new year. It will not, however, be only a dairy- and gluten free diet but an enhanced diet to deal with the following issues:
So my diet will definitely be completely gluten- and dairy free, but also quite likely include with it:
It will be very interesting to see the results of both the live blood analysis and the hair mineral analysis after following this diet for a while.
An interesting point to note here, as well, is that many of the problems detected by the two naturopaths could be linked to the consumption of white-flour products, processed carbohydrates and sugar. These have been the likely cause of: impaired gut bacteria balance and thus impaired nutrient absorption and weakened immune system, overburdened pancreas and liver, worsening of the mold infection, and the blood sugar imbalances.
I have explained the results of the hair mineral analysis in a separate article. This will also explain how I am integrating some of the advice I received into this diet.
(Keep in mind, however, that 'normal' doctors found nothing wrong with me, so although these are quite important imbalances to correct, it is not unusual to find such a large amount of imbalances manifesting at once.)
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
Jump to chapter:
Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
Ending the Diet
2017 Update
Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
Saturday, 12th January 2013
Holiday season over, I have now been gluten free again for six days (including today). And for the week prior to this one, from about 3rd of Jan, I've been on very little gluten and dairy.
This is how it started. I woke up on Saturday morning a week ago with a sore throat. I also had my menses, and it is quite typical that during that time my immune system goes down and I get some level of a cold at least.
First of all, I had a breakthrough regarding painful menses, which was quite unbelievable. I found that just sniffing an organic, high-quality essential oil called Vitex, took the pain away almost immediately! Whereas normally I need either pain killers or a very strict dietary regime, such as a juice fast, to improve my periods. Vitex oil is meant to balance female hormones but men should stay away from it because it can make them nauseous, etc.
(Read also: Natural Cures for Menstrual Pain)
So, after this breakthrough, I went out to walk to the post office - a very short walk of a few blocks. Note that I wasn't completely gluten free yet but on the way back I started feeling increasingly weak and like a had a cold. Achy arms and legs, etc. So I came back home and ended up spending all day under covers lying on the sofa.
And since I was already ill, I thought I might as well give up caffeine once again! Which I did. So then I had a headache on top of the rest of the symptoms. However, rubbing peppermint essential oil on my temples eased the headache a little.
Note that most essential oils are just fragrances and not the real thing. The real ones can be quite expensive, depending on the oil. I order my oils from LivingLibations.com in Canada and can vouch that they are very powerful and they work unlike any other oil I've tried before. I will write another article on essential oils, as well as at least one book review.
Then I did Bob Beck's blood electrification, using Sota Instruments' device, and the cold symptoms improved somewhat, as they do, and the throat ache went away. At some point I felt better, but then worse again, and so it went until on Sunday lunchtime, when I went out with a friend to have a pizza. Soon after eating it - with mozzarella, wheat-based dough and all - I started feeling very dizzy.
The next day I became gluten and dairy free but because of occasionally feeling very weak, and the dizziness coming and going, I decided to stay home from work. I also stayed home on Tuesday.
On Wednesday I felt completely fine in the morning, so I went to work and announced to my workmates that I had completely recovered, but then - in the afternoon - I started feeling very dizzy again, as well as weak, and it was hard to concentrate on the work I was doing. So on Thursday morning I went to the doctor's to see if he had a clue to what was up.
The doctor sent me for blood tests and also to x-ray my lungs because I mentioned that a naturopath suspected I had aspergillus lung infection (see more here: live blood test results). I should get the results of those next Thursday.
I will list below what I have been eating during this time but first I want to note down where I am on this health journey so far. Also, noting everything down here will help me figure out longer term where different problems lay, as I can go back to my notes to check different things. Dates and symptoms tend to get mixed up longer term, and realizations come and then get buried somewhere in memory. That's why I would recommend anyone on a health journey to immediately start keeping quite a thorough diary on their symptoms, goals, foods eaten, supplements taken, plans, ideas and inspirations. I think this can greatly help motivate and keep track.
So, the doctor had one interesting insight, which was that my cough may be caused by acid reflux. I stated that I had no symptoms of heartburn whatsoever but he said that it is quite common to only have a chronic cough as a heartburn symptom!. So googling the topic, I found out that acid reflux is, indeed, a very common cause of cough, right after asthma and post-nasal drip. And the heart burn may otherwise be asymptomatic. So that is something for me to think about. The best long-term help for heart burn, according to my research, is to take digestive enzymes on every meal. This will help to balance the acid secretion in the stomach instead of just neutralizing the acid, like drugs do. Neutralizing stomach acids will always impair digestion. I will write a separate article on this topic.
I am not sure the above paragraph is directly related to the topic of this article (although gluten surely causes acid reflux) but I want to give a truthful account of my full health journey, which makes it necessary to digress every once in a while. But I'm getting to gluten soon.
I gave up caffeine on Saturday and normally the detox symptoms - i.e. headache and tiredness - last two days. However, now I still have a slight headache coming and going, a week later. Yet, I never normally get headaches! I thus suspect that it is either a dairy or gluten withdrawal symptom.
I gave up dairy and gluten completely the following Monday, but I had already cut down a lot on both the week before. I gave up all pasta, beer, pastries, cheese, etc. But I have kept eating eggs because both naturopaths I recently consulted thought that I should eat more protein. (I also had porridge twice for breakfast, with soya milk, but the oats may have contained gluten. Also the fish and potato bread had a little butter on them.}
I don't know if the dizziness is a withdrawal symptom. The doctor thought it was a virus, apparently dizziness can be quite a typical symptom of a viral infection. I thought it might have to do with blood sugar imbalances caused by sluggish adrenal glands. My mum and dad thought it could be due to a stiff neck and lack of blood circulation to the brain (which I definitely have because of work and lack of exercise and stretching).
Apparently you can rest both of your hands above your head, so that the hands put weight on the head and shoulders, and if the dizziness gets worse or you get other clear symptoms, it is a sign that the dizziness is related to a stiff neck. This, apparently, is extremely common with people who work in an office or at a computer a lot (which I do). [In addition, a stiff neck may be linked to lymphatic congestion!] For some people it can get so bad that they end up taking a lot of time off from work, due to pains, etc.
A fourth option for the dizziness is that it is a result of the minerals and probiotics which I started taking recently. But I doubt this is the case.
More on the withdrawal in the next chapter. So what have I been eating the last week? I've been having quinoa salads for lunch, with greens and apricots, as well as with things like artichokes, beans and sugar snap peas.
I have also been having many omelettes and smoothies. For snacks, I have had home-made Finnish potato bread with tuna on top, 'Naked' raw nut bars (gluten and dairy free), and I have also been having a lot of fish, rice and some vegetable soup. Today I found some gluten-free bread and (corn-flour) crackers from Sainsbury's supermarket. I also found gluten-free pasta, which I haven't cooked yet.
In addition, I have been taking a lot of probiotics, minerals and green powder, on whom I will write more at another time.
I have briefly summarise, in a separate article, my research on gluten withdrawal. You can read these here: "Gluten Free Diet Benefits" and here: "Milk and Wheat Withdrawal Symptoms: Casein and Gluten, Opiates, Serotonin, etc."
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
Jump to chapter:
Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
Ending the Diet
2017 Update
Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
Sunday, 13th January 2013
I woke up late today, just before noon, because I couldn't sleep very well. I don't think the sleeplessness had anything to do with the diet, but more with the surroundings, noise etc.
Breakfast:
A zinc supplement and two tablespoons of probiotic liquid in live spring water
Two slices of gluten-free bread from Sainsbury's supermarket, an omelette with two eggs, onion, mushrooms, courgette, salt, pepper, Jordanian thyme, cayenne pepper.
Rosehip tea
1 teasp of multi-mineral liquid in spring water, a small glass of home-made water kefir with ginger and lemon
I feel tired, still, been feeling solidly tired now for one week and two weekends. I have problems with tiredness normally, as well, but this time it is more pronounced with the dairy and gluten withdrawal, I think. I had a slight headache as well, coming and going, my nose feels blocked, cough is still there and I feel congested in general. Neck feels stiff and I feel tension in my jaw, similarly to that caused by caffeine, although this is my tenth day caffeine free.
I need to buy digestive enzymes and see if they help with my cough. Ken Rohla said in an email to me that we should all eat digestive enzymes whether we eat raw or not. But of cause if you don't eat mostly raw foods digestive enzymes become even more important because all the enzymes get destroye by cooking. More on this later.
It is important that I take some time today to prepare dairy- and gluten free foods for next week, because I don't want to spend money on buying foods, and although there are plenty of dairy- and gluten free lunch choices: e.g. soup from Crussh, rice and tofu dish from Tossed, or sushi from Itsu; there are absolutely no gluten free choices for breakfast. That's why I ended up eating porridge cooked in soya milk last week, knowing, that the oats might have gluten in them.
I have bought some gluten free bread (by 'Genius'), poppadoms, and crackers and now I have to device some toppings for them, to have as snacks at work next week. Also, freshly squeezed vegetable juices from Marks & Spencer are good for snacks.
While washing dishes I started feeling very dizzy and a little nauseous and weak.
I took a bath and the dizziness went. That was probably just a coincidence, and not because of the bath. But
then I started feeling extremely tired just before eating. I drank some raw apple cider vinegar in water but it didn't seem to help much.
Lunch:
- 2tbsp HealthForce Nutritionals' Vitamineral Green powder mixed in with water
- White basmati rice with prawn and vegetable sauce, with bok choy
Teas:
- 1 litre chaga mushroom tea (super-antioxidant)
- Sage tea, dandelion tea
Now it is 9.15pm, the extreme tiredness has lifted but I still feel ready for bed although it is still early and I slept late this morning. I have a slight headache again but I think the detox symptoms are lessening, in general. They are not as severe anymore as last week. I will have the zinc supplement with EM probiotics in water and go to bed.
[Later note: my heart was racing a bit again this night. Not nearly as bad as when I was eating carrots during the juice fast - I found out I had an intolerance to carrots - but noticeably. Not sure why, maybe detox.]
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
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Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
Ending the Diet
2017 Update
Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
Monday, 14th January 2013
Slept a lot, feeling quite well this morning, but tired still. It is snowing in London.
Breakfast:
Zinc, 2 tbsp EM probiotics (SCD Probio Balance) with spring water
Smoothie with 2 apples, maca powder, mixed baby greens, dried sea buckthorn berry from Finland ('tyrni'), pumpkin seeds, linseeds, live spring water, 2 'liver rescue' capsules from Healthforce Nutritionals.
1 teasp Ambaya Gold Super-Conductive Ionic Minerals in a glass of spring water
Selenium with B2 & B3 -vitamins, C-vitamin, apple cider vinegar in live spring water
8am, heading off to work on a bus (my bicycle is broken)
Snacks at work:
Redbush tea
Poppadoms with hummus
Berry and liquorice tea
Lunch:
Spinach and squash curry with brown and red rice from Crussh (gluten and dairy free but I think it had a lot of garlic in it)
2pm: Almost immediately after eating lunch I started feeling a little weak and ill. I was coughing, again, and even before the meal I had a runny and blocked nose.
4pm: Feeling extremely tired although I slept lots last night.
5pm: Started feeling fine again. It seems that similarly to getting 'dizzy spells' I get 'tiredness spells'. The tiredness 'spells' last intensely for maybe 1 hour and then disappear. Only since starting the gluten- and dairy free diet.
Dinner:
Potatoes and broccoli, boiled and fried
1 glass of home-made water kefir
In the evening:
2 capsules of McCombs Detox Essentials (C-Vitamin)
2 capsules of selenium (with vitamins B2 & B3)
1 teasp of Zeolite clay in a glass of tap water
10pm: Still quite tired, though not as bad as before. Heading to bath and then bed. Will have zinc and EM probiotics just before bed.
I also ordered digestive enzymes today in the post: Renew Life Digestmore Ultra, which Ken Rohla said were the 'best enzymes I can find anywhere'.
I will write a separate post about why I'm taking so many supplements and what each one is for.
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
Jump to chapter:
Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
Ending the Diet
2017 Update
Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
Tuesday, 15th January 2013
Breakfast:
2 slices of gluten-free bread, brushed with olive oil, slices of apple, Jordanian sage.
A glass of tap water with 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar, 1 zinc capsule, 1 vitamin C capsule, 1 selenium (with B2, B3)
I was a little bit nauseous straight after waking up and was coughing a lot after eating bread.
9.30: At work - feel fine, a bit upbeat.
11pm:
Poppadoms (gluten free) with hummus
2pm:
Just had a tomato and lentil soup from Crussh and I didn't start coughing after.
So far no dizziness today but difficult to concentrate and tired (do the worst symptoms always come after eating lunch?). Demotivated also and not feeling very sociable. Very slight headache trying to come on.
Stayed couple of hours late at work, went to sunbed for 5mins afterwards.
Dinner:
Potato and broccoli omelette with herbs, spices and olive oil.
Glass of water with apple cider vinegar, 2 capsules of Liver Support, 2 capsules of C-vitamin, and one selenium (with B2 & B3).
Teas:
Redbush tea, Clipper organic 'wild berry' infusion (tea)*.
* Clipper tea ingredients: Hibiscus, Liquorice root, Rosehip, Pineapple, Nettle, Natural flavours, Bilberry (1%).
This is a very nice tasting tea and although it has 'natural flavours' (which doesn't mean they are natural or good for you, it's just a name) I like it more than other fruit or berry teas which usually have nothing else but flavours - i.e. no real fruit or berry ingredients.
Snacks:
A few almonds.
[Don't remember what I had for dinner but it was something dairy- and gluten free...]
10.45pm: I feel well now, just took a bath and gonna go to bed now. I didn't get any dizziness today, maybe just a tiny bit of a shadow of dizziness at some point. I felt a bit out of it and tired in the afternoon, couldn't concentrate very well, but now in the evening I feel good. I'm not sure if it has been the mineral supplement that has been making me dizzy (ormus minerals can do that) or the dairy and gluten withdrawal. Also no probiotics today.
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
Jump to chapter:
Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
Ending the Diet
2017 Update
Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
Wednesday
Breakfast at work:
Porridge made with oats that probably have gluten in them.
10.30am: I feel good now, but not 100% awake. It is quite easy to concentrate at work and I feel quite motivated. My eyes are puffy with bags under them. I have only started getting this recently, maybe sometime before christmas.
I think I will order the adrenal glandular capsules since Will Houghton, the hair mineral analyst; Katrin Hempel, the live blood analyst; and James Wilson, the author of the book 'Adrenal Fatigue', all recommended them.
I will also get some Omega 3s.
Morning snack:
Poppadoms with little bit of hummus.
2pm: Started feeling really tire again after eating. Had tofu and vegetable rice noodle soup from Crussh. [Actually, I just realised when typing this that I should have checked if the rice noodles were 100% rice or partly made with wheat! But I think the label said gluten-free.]
The soup also had a little bit of carrot in it, which I have an intolerance (allergy) to.
Afternoon snack:
'Naked' gluten- and dairy-free cereal bars: 'ginger bread' and 'cashew'.
4.30pm:
Feel really tired. I seem to these days get warm after eating and then quickly cold again. [I might need to find out about the 'adrenal temperature test'.]
6pm: Feel ok now but was very demotivated to work today.
[I think the dinner on this day was this basmati rice and prawn, spinach, and vegetable dish my boyfriend made me. With big chunks of ginger and other spices. Delicious!]
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
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Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
Ending the Diet
2017 Update
Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
Thursday
Slept well but had a lot of dreams. This is strange, as I stopped having dreams at some point. As a child my dreams were always very vivid.
I took some ormus mineral liquid last night - not sure if that had something to do with the dreams.
Breakfast:
Smoothie with ashwaganda and maca (should also add siberian ginseng and liquorice or maybe just drink liquorice and ginger teas? These four foods/ herbs are good for the adrenal glands.)
Snack:
'Naked' apple nut bar (raw, gluten- and dairy free).
11.30am: Feel very good today, tiredness may be lifting.
Lunch: Large dish of sushi at Itsu, which had raw salmon and tuna, nori seaweed, white rice, vegetables, another type of seaweed as a salad, and the condiments: pickled ginger, wasabi paste, soya sauce.
If you are very sensitive to gluten be careful, as the soya sauce most likely will have gluten in it (although it is possible to buy gluten-free soya sauce) and also there have been reports of sushi rice sometimes having gluten-containing ingredients mixed into it.
So try a small portion first and see how it affects you. And maybe bring a small amount of your own soya sauce.
Dinner:
Two gluten-free toast with one boiled egg, red pepper, tomato, Jordanian thyme.
Kefir, zinc, tap water.
10pm: Just came out of the bath. Today I felt like the tiredness was lifting. I didn't get dizziness, headaches, nausea or aches at all. I still didn't feel in full energy and still had no motivation at work. But feeling definitely a lot better.
I think that the natural health progress is often very gradual, as the body heals and finds its balance. After feeling well for a week or two the temptation is often to 'reward' yourself and eat something unhealthy. But the body's healing process never completes in two weeks. What if you stuck it out for longer and found out that you feel gradually better and better every day? As you keep the healing process going?
Having said that, I do get cravings these days. Not that often but especially when I'm tired I crave alcohol, green tea, sugar. And for lunch, especially if I'm hungry, I crave pasta or cakes. Chocolate also crosses my mind when I'm in a food shop. I have not much trouble resisting, however.
Still, tomorrow I may have to have a pizza for lunch, as I have to attend lunch with my work team. I will try to eat dairy- and gluten free but if there are no alternatives I don't want to be impolite and make the others feel bad for the choice of restaurant. If that is the case, it will at least be interesting to note what reaction I get.
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
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Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
Ending the Diet
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Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
Friday
Breakfast:
Porridge from Crussh, made in soya milk but oats probably had gluten in them. Toppings: berries, honey, seeds and goji berries.
1 teasp of mineral liquid in tap water
EM probiotics, 2 capfuls in water
Zinc
12 noon:
Lunch with team mates at work: Pizza at pizza express.
Sparkling water.
Dinner:
Smoothie: 2 apples, baby leaf greens, lettuce, 1 tbsp maca powder, 1 tbsp ashwaganda powder, tap water, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds.
1 capsule of omega 3s (made from cod liver oil)
1 capsule of digestive enzymes.
I have a new theory about what causes my cough now. Will write more about this tomorrow.
I ate the pizza fully expecting to get very bad cough and runny nose, dizziness, etc. Instead, there was no cough after eating! Just a little bit as I still tend to have on a daily basis, but no additional cough after eating, like usual! I also didn't get the tiredness in the afternoon that I normally get from eating heavy, starchy foods. These observations were very surprising.
My theory of what has happened is that my digestive system has become so much stronger during the last two weeks off dairy and gluten - both of which are very difficult to digest - that it can handle one time better now. Not that I ever had any proof that gluten was bad for me but there is a good chance that it is bad for most people in the world.
I did get watery eyes after eating gluten and when I came home in the evening my eyes were red. I also got a little bit of dizziness when walking home from the bus. But the clearest negative symptom the pizza affected was flatulence in the evening (farts). I also had some sharp pain in the colon as the air was moving. This was very interesting!
So that all seems a good proof that dairy- and gluten free diet works for me and I should continue it. I will also take digestive enzymes now with every meal and also try to have at least one smoothie every day.
Generally it is worth noting that I feel that my cough has got a lot better during this diet, although it is still there. I've been so concentrating on detox symptoms that I have forgotten to think about the cough too much.
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
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Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
Ending the Diet
2017 Update
Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
Saturday
Upon waking up I could feel the effects of yesterday's pizza. I had this feeling of lots of sticky phlegm stuck in my throat which would not move with coughing of swallowing. I have had this feeling before and I am pretty sure it is due to cheese and not gluten. I also had a much worse cough this morning than usual. So I think I can safely conclude that cheese (at least the pasteurized, processed, cow cheeses) give me phlegm and congestion.
The worst part about the phlegm is that fact that when you notice it in one body part, such as the throat in my case, it doesn't end there. It is a sign that the cheese has caused mucus build-up in your body and that the inner organs are also affected. This means that your intestines and colon will have phlegm in them, and other organs, for example the liver, have plenty of mucus in them also. This causes strain on the organs, and may be the reason why I had red eyes yesterday (generally a sign of liver congestion).
On a more positive note, I have had many dreams for the last three nights. This may be because of not drinking alcohol. Or maybe because I have been taking minerals and it affects my brain function. Or perhaps my body rests better since energy is not spent of digesting hard-to-digest gluten and dairy, and because blood sugar is more balanced since I'm having no beer, no sugar, and less processed carbohydrates, which in turn gives the adrenal glands and the liver a rest.
Breakfast:
Glass of live spring water with 2 capfulls of EM probiotics, 1 zinc tablet, 1 capsule of Omega 3s, 1 digestive enzyme.
Two gluten-free toasts* with sunflower oil brushed on, one organic fried egg, red pepper slices, pink Himalayan salt, cayenne pepper.
1 cup of lavender and echinacea tea.
* gluten-free toast brand was 'Genius' and the ingredients:
Water, tapioca starch, rice flour, potato starch, rapeseed oil, maize starch, psyllium husk powder, treacle, humectant (vegetable glycerine), stabiliser (hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose), dried egg white, yeast, salt, millet flakes, flax seeds, sugar beet fibre, caramelised sugar syrup, rice starch, preservative (calcium propionate), flavouring.
The bread is quite tasty, so I guess a mix of these specific flours works well for gluten-free bread. Keep in mind that there is a fair amount of sugar in the bread as well, in the form of treacle (syrup) and caramelised sugar syrup, which probably partly help with the nice flavour. You may want to use sugar in your bread recipe - healthier forms would be molasses, honey and maple syrup - or leave it out. You could also use alternative, natural sweetener, such as stevia. Keep in mind that many commercial sweeteners are extremely harmful for your health.
1pm snack:
Kettles potato crisps with black pepper and salt
Lavender and echinacea tea
1/2 teasp of mineral-liquid in live spring water
Lunch (2.20pm):
Smoothie: apples, one lemon with white rind, piece of fresh ginger, three leafs of green cabbage, 1 tbsp maca, 1 tbsp ashwaganda, 1 tbsp dried sea buckthorn berry, 2 dried figs, pumpkin seeds, linseeds (flax seeds), one selenium capsule emptied into the mix (with added B2 & B3 vitamins), live spring water.
1 capsule of omega 3s
1 capsule of digestive enzymes
Cup of herbal tea (burdock, dandelion etc.)
20mins after lunch: feeling very tired. Would love a green tea to pick me up. I have been out on a walk (before lunch) in the snowy city and now sitting on the sofa reading a book (from my PC kindle). It is cold in the flat because it is an old house and there is no insulation in the walls and the sash windows are single glazed and rattley. Perhaps the cold makes me more tired? But it seems I always get tired after eating these days...
Snack:
Four slices of gluten-free bread, brushed with sunflower oil and with canned pineapple slices on top.
Live spring water with salt (you are meant to increase your salt intake with adrenal fatigue)
I was feeling very tired until 5pm, at which point I took a nap, which helped. Now it is 8.45pm and I'm still feeling tired, though less sleepy. The flat has finally warmed up now and I'm not cold anymore!
I think the tiredness is worsened by yesterday's pizza but all and all I think it is adrenal fatigue. I can't wait for my adrenal glandular supplements to arrive, I've ordered them from Dr. Wilson in the States (so it might take a long time).
Had no dinner, went to bed before 10pm.
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
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Sunday
Had a cough in the morning before eating anything.
Breakfast:
Four cups of rosehip tea
2 gluten-free toasts with sunflower oil and red pepper slices and two more with raspberry jam
1 digestive enzyme
1 omega 3 capsule
1100mg of vitamin C with bioflavonoids etc. (2 capsules)
1 zinc tablet
Live spring water
It's not a very healthy breakfast and I do eat too much bread these days but it is a transition phase. At least I am not eating cheese or milk products and no gluten. I will improve the diet gradually as I get comfortable with each phase, hopefully resulting in a 'high raw' diet after my adrenal glands have recovered and built themselves up and my energy levels are back to normal (more on this in my 'hair mineral testing' report).
The plan for today is to make:
- gluten-free potato bread
- cauliflower soup
- dairy and gluten-free pizza
- home-made tuna-mayonnaise
- pasta with tomato sauce and tuna
- lunch to take to work - maybe a rice dish with salad
Snack:
Kettles salted potato crisps
Glass of kefir
4pm, Dinner:
Gluten-free pasta with tuna-tomato sauce, which also had chillies, sunflower oil, molasses sugar, thyme, salt, crushed mustard seeds, cayenne pepper, vegetable stock cube.
1 digestive enzyme with the meal
1 selenium capsule
Floravital liquid iron supplement
25 minutes after the dinner I had a sting in my heart - I thought I might be allergic to something I just ate but the pulse was 68bpm so probably not. I feel very tired again, however, straight after eating. I think my digestion is quite weak these days and take a lot of energy from my body, since always seem to get tired immediately after lunch. I hope it goes quicker this time than last time, however, yesterday I ended up feeling tired all afternoon and evening and going to bed very early.
I've never seen so much snow in London! It makes the city so beautiful and quiet :) And the flat is warm today.
I had to take a nap at about 5pm for half an hour. When I woke up I felt a lot more energetic. Started making lots of food ready for the week.
9pm:
Home-made apple crumble (recipe had a little butter in it, but the oats were gluten-free and there were no other sources of gluten or dairy).
11.30pm:
Heading to bed... I exhausted myself making loads of food for next week but that is good, so I can sleep fine though I woke up late today.
But now I have Finnish potato bread, apple crumble, and two gluten-free pizza bases ready for toppings tomorrow after work. I also have gluten-free pasta salad for work and home-made mayonnaise. I got some new mason jars and set lots of kefir to brew, approximately 4 litres.
On Tuesday I will make cauliflower soup after work and on Wednesday I will have a small piece of organic beef for dinner with something else.
Earlier today when I blew my nose my ear unblocked. I think the mucus is leaving my body.
Before bed:
Live spring water with multi-mineral liquid mixed in.
Piece of potato bread with olive oil brushed on and red pepper.
Zinc, selenium, 1100mg C-vitamin.
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
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Monday
Breakfast:
Today I had a bit of a breakthrough realization! I've had a problem with feeling tired in the mornings regardless of how long I slept - I've had this problem for many years.
I remember when studying in 2007-2008 I had so much work to do and I swore over and over again that I would wake up early but the next morning I would feel so weak - physically weak in my muscles, a kind of an ache - that I always ended up thinking that I must give my body a rest. If I forced myself to wake up then I would pretty much be tired most of the day.
Well, I had that feeling again this morning, as usual, but this time also accompanied with some nausea. And it suddenly occured to me that it might be heartburn (acid reflux)! Can heartburn make you feel physically weak and tired? Apparently it can. I know because I drank a glass of water with 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate soda in it (baking powder) and within 10 minutes these symptoms were gone! I had a couple of big burbs as well which made me feel a lot better.
So I might start taking bicarbs every evening or/and first thing in the morning before getting out of be to neutralize the excess stomach acids.
Breakfast:
Zinc, live spring water, digestive enzyme, omega 3, 1100mg c-vitamin with bioflavonoids etc.
2 gluten-free toasts with onion-mushroom-tomato scrambled eggs (also included: olive oil, soya milk, salt pepper, cayenne pepper).
1/2 lemon juice in glass of water
Snack:
Home-made apple crumble
Berry tea, redbush tea
Lunch:
Salad (lettuce, lemon juice, grated apple, radishes)
Gluten-free tuna pasta from yesterday with added tomatoes.
Snacks at 4pm and 7pm at work:
Potato bread with tuna-mayonnaise (home-made mayonnaise, gluten and dairy free but had egg yolks)
9pm: Just got home half an hour ago - it was a long day. I'm gonna have to work quite hard now for the coming months because I am working on two projects at the same time. I think I will have to join the gym to get through the work load and also to appear more confident and energetic, as the second project is a good opportunity and I should hopefully perform well.
Today I didn't cough almost at all, even after eating. I think it is because I've cut out two very difficult to digest foods: gluten and dairy, and maybe also because I take digestive enzymes now with every meal. I'm sure probiotics (kefir and EM) also play a part in this.
Dinner, at 9.30pm:
Gluten and dairy free pizza.
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
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Tuesday, 22nd January 2013
Another detox day. Again, I felt fine in the morning but in the evening was feeling very dizzy. My theory is that it is the pizza that caused this - the detox symptoms seem to come 4 days after quitting gluten and dairy in my case. I'm not sure whether it is gluten or dairy causing the dizziness and it may be both.
Breakfast:
Smoothie
Snack:
Home-made apple crumble
Lunch:
Gluten and dairy-free pizza (made with rice and gram flour in the base and vegan nut cheese from cashew nutes, nutritional yeast and salt - delicious).
Salad: lettuce, tomato, humus.
3.30pm: Started feeling weak again. Like a cold and achiness, just now.
Snack:
Finnish potato bread with tuna-mayonnaise (home-made mayo)
Dinner:
Spicy cauliflower soup
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
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Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
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Wednesday, 23rd January 2013
Went to be early last night but woke up tired today.
Breakfast:
Smoothie with apples, coriander, pok choy, maca, ashwagandha, sea buckthorn berry, lemon with rind, live spring water.
Zinc, vitamin C, omega 3, digestive enzyme, selenium.
Rosehip tea.
Lunch:
Spicy cauliflower and broccoli soup.
Snacks:
Home-made apple crumble (gluten-free oats), 2x Provamel soya-based chocolate mousse, potato bread with tuna mayonnaise.
Wild berry and liquorice, rosehip and redbush teas.
Dinner:
Two toasts with pineapple, tomato, sage, olive oil.
Three glasses of molsses kefir
Two capsules of C-vitamin with bioflavonoids (2200mg)
Digestive enzyme
Zinc
I felt dizzy when getting off the bus and walking home. I also forgot the digestive enzymes home today so I've been taking less of them. I haven't had the mineral liquid for a while now and haven't had any dreams. Felt okay at work, a little tired only. Quite tired now, it's 9.30pm and I'm lying in bed about to go to sleep.
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
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Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
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Thursday
Breakfast:
Two toasts and scrambled egg.
Zinc, glass kefir, 2 teasp minerals
I have a stiff neck since yesterday, painful muscles. I had a headache last night and I feel tired this morning.
Lunch:
Gluten-free pasta salad, with green pepper, sweetcorn, mayonnaise, olive oil, salt pepper, cayenne papper.
Snack:
Don't remember. Either potato bread and tuna-mayonnaise or Provamel chocolate soya dessert.
Dinner:
Had poached salmon, soya-dip, deep-fried potato fries with barbeque flavour chilli sauce, broccoli chilli salad, tap water (paid for by my office since I worked until 9.30pm).
Working three hours later than normal, and not having a lunch break, brought the low-grade fever feeling back with arm and leg ache. I felt again like I was coming down with a cold.
When I finally got home (went to sleep midnight-ish) I took a bath and afterwards sprayed my skin with magnesium oil. This helps relax muscles and rest better.
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
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Friday, 25th January 2013
Woke up surprisingly fresh considering I didn't sleep much and worked late last night.
Breakfast:
Smoothie: Apples, green cabbage leaves, fresh coriander (cilantro), maca, sea buckthorn berry (tyrni), ashwagandha, live spring water.
Digestive enzyme, kefir, zinc, boron, selenium.
Snack:
Berry smoothie from Marks & Spencer, digestive enzyme capsule.
Lunch:
Brown rice vegetable dish with green beans (and some grated carrot unfortunately), but no gluten or dairy.
Digestive enzyme.
Snacks:
Redbush (rooibos) tea, chocolate coated rice cakes.
Kettles black pepper crisps (I started coughing after, I'm not surprised though because they are difficult to digest, deep-fried and all).
Dinner:
Spicy hot vegetable soup my boyfriend had made.
Digestive enzyme, molasses kefir.
9.30pm:
Just got out of the bath. Been coughing less today as I've been taking digestive enzymes with every meal. For the past two days I've been coughing more, as well as this morning, and I'm pretty sure it is because of forgetting the enzymes home on both days and taking less of them. It also seems that foods that are more difficult to diegest give me more of a cough.
Went to the pub with workmates earlier but just drank orange juice and sparkling water.
I'm feeling tired now though it is quite early. Might have to have another long night's sleep. I hope my adrenal glandular supplements come soon so that I can start having some energy.
I will fly home to Finland with my boyfriend in a little over a week and while there I will drop my diet but continue to take digestive enzymes. I'm not organised enough to be on holiday and manage to stick to the diet. I will limit gluten and dairy, not sure how much yet though.
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
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Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
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Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
Saturday
Today I woke up naturally at 7.45am! I don't feel tired at all, although a little morning grogginess/ laziness is still there. This means I must be making good progress on my health, I don't normally wake up before 9-10am in the weekends and quite often sleep until midday.
I keep checking my own eyes in the mirror every day hoping that my eyes would have brightened up. Today they look perhaps a little brighter but there is still this dull film over my eyes that didn't used to be there. My eyes look tired, not happy and inspired like younger and more energetic people's. The eye-whites tend to be a little yellow (sign of liver congestion) and my eyes also go red easily. Recently I have also seemed to develop permanent bags under my eyes but this may be due to the cheap mascara I bought and have been using.
But I think my eyes are slowly getting better as my liver and digestion system recovers. My ears have also popped a couple of times I blew my nose so I feel that the congestion is releasing. I have to clear my throat a little bit this morning but I didn't develop a proper cough from the breakfast like normally. I also have no other digestion problems and my muscles feel normal and rested, whereas usually they have a dull ache in the morning. So it all seems a slow process but a positive one. It is such a beautiful crisp winter's morning today, peaceful, all the Friday night's mayhem from the streets have fallen asleep.
Breakfast:
Molasses water kefir, zinc, digestive enzyme
Eggs scrambled with organic soya milk, mushrooms, courgette and olive oil
Rosehip tea
There are people who are allergic/ sensitive to dairy and gluten, and these people would probably get quicker benefits from this diet. In my case, however, I think what I am experiencing is different: It is the digestive system, liver and brain receptors strengthening and adjusting themselves as these two very difficult to digest, opiate-receptor stimulating foods get cleared out of the body. As earlier mentioned, I was surprised how dramatic the detox symptoms were: quite notable dizziness, low-grade fever, aches in arms and legs, tiredness, inability to concentrate. And even the fact that the symptoms seemed to come with an approximately four-day delay after quitting these foods makes the thought of going back to eating them temporarily less desirable. To be sure, however, as the digestive system slowly but surely recovers over the months or perhaps even a year or two, the detox symptoms of occasional indulgences become less severe. However, the dizziness, as far as it is related to the opiate-receptor stimulation of the brain, probably will always be there when detoxifying casein (in milk) and gluten.
I am glad I am testing this in a very conscious way, taking lots of notes, because otherwise it would have been very difficult to link these symptoms to gluten and dairy detox.
Did I mention that my blood-test results from the normal medical doctor (NHS) came back normal? I was tested for diabetes, anemia, B12-vitamin deficiency, thyroid function, HIV and some other things. These are quite standard things they run whenever they send you to blood tests. A full blood count (FBC) was also taken which also came back normal.
An x-ray of my lungs showed no sign of aspergillus or any other infections, which is surprising since my blood analyst diagnosed me with aspergillus only some 1-2 months ago. A response from the other naturopath, the hair mineral analyst, regarding this was that it is possible the infection is so slight that it does not show on x-ray but a blood analysis will be able to detect it early. He thought as long as I concentrated on strengthening my immune system it would most likely be able to clear the infection up on its own without any specific help from supplements etc.
11am:
How exciting! My adrenal gland supplements just came! I am very hopeful that these will kick-start the recovery of my adrenal glands, as the hair analyst diagnosed me with adrenal insufficiency (not as bad as adrenal fatigue). This would mean that I will finally get my energy back.
Additional articles to come explaining the whole hair mineral analysis and the adrenal gland problems but they are way beyond the scope of this (already long) article.
But briefly, the "adrenal glandular" supplements that I just started taking are made up of animal's ground-up adrenal glands. It sounds horrible and odd - how would that help rebuilding someone's adrenals? The answer is that they don't seem to know but it has something to do with how the animals' adrenals contain the same nutrients that human adrenals need to recover. All hormones have (at least supposedly) been removed from the glands so it is not a hormone supplement. My first reaction to hearing about these supplements was 'no way am I taking those' but reading about them online and how powerful they can be, I decided to give them a try. I can't recommend them to you as I don't really know if they are safe but I will try myself and see. I know that you will have to wean off of them slowly since they are quite powerful. But again, more in another article.
Just for the record, the supplement I am taking now is from Endo-Labs and it contains ground adrenals, spleen, thyroid and pituitary glands, as well as kelp and iodine. The "thyroid glandular" will support the thyroid, as will the iodine and kelp, etc.
I know it sounds like I've gone supplement crazy but after experimenting with different things I will be able to say what seems to work and what not. I am not advocating taking supplements in the long term, except perhaps digestive enzymes and of course, home-made probiotics.
Snack:
5 thin rice cakes with raspberry jam on top.
3pm:
Something is happening in my body. I thought it was a good feeling first but now I'm not sure... I feel spacey, and my body feels kind of jittery. It could be my body adjusting to the adrenal supplements and the jitteriness could be also described as energy, but at the moment it feels definitely off balance. Hopefully it is my adrenals kicking in and starting to function again, and hopefully the feeling balances and becomes more normal. I just woke up from a long nap because I suddenly felt very tired. While lying in bed, after sleeping, I started feeling a little energetic in a good way, almost like my solar plexus was opening up a little. But now the spaciness and odd feeling has started. It could also be that I overdosed on the B-vitamin but I suspect that it has something to do with my adrenals and the thyroid getting a boost.
Late lunch, 4.30pm:
Spicy vegetable soup
Potatoes and a small piece of organic beef steak, with a little bit of brandy butter (dairy butter). But the brandy butter was a mistake, it tasted horrible, and it was full or sugar as well.
I started coughing straight after eating, even though I took an enzyme. Will take another enzyme.
5pm: Feeling very tired and demotivated to do anything. I'm hoping it's an adjustment period to the adrenal glandulars.
I started coughing badly suddenly. I wonder if it can be because of the little bit of butter I ate with the dinner.
It's full moon tonight.
6pm: Feel a lot better now, took another adrenal glandular about half an hour ago.
9pm: Drank two 'spritzers', which is white wine mixed with sparkling water. I started feeling very tired very quickly and didn't get any of the drunkenness benefits. I just don't enjoy the feeling anymore, I don't need it. The reason I chose to drink it, however, was because I felt my brain needed an energy boost. It is always the same reason. My live blood analyst thought this was a strange thought: "alcohol for energy?" - she thought it was nonsensical. My hair mineral analyst understood it better and made the connection with alcoholism and the need for energy and brain stimulation.
Anyway, I drank plenty of live spring water straight after and also kefir (as noted below). But still feel like I'm ready for bed. My energy levels are really pretty crap these days. I hope I feel better tomorrow.
Late Dinner, 9pm:
Fried potatoes with sardine and vegetable sauce, very nice taste although normally I don't like sardines, they remind me of cat food. This time it tasteed good though, there were enough other flavours to overpower the sardine flavour.
Two glasses of ginger kefir (tastes like ginger beer!)
Adrenal glandular supplement, 1100mg of vitamin C.
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
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Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
Ending the Diet
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Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
Sunday
I woke up today feeling quite energetic but decided to lazy in bed. I lazied what seemed like a very long time, trying to go back to sleep but wasn't sleepy, and when I finally got up it was only 8.20am!
I had some fried potatoes and omelette for breakfast, together with kefir, adrenal glandular, and digestive enzyme.
It felt like the first spring day today, and I sat by the open window for one hour with sun on my face, meditating and reading a book. It was a very enjoyable peaceful morning. The weather was quite warm, blue skies, sun is starting to have a bit of kick.
For lunch I had just some potato chips (fries) at a local cafe when I went for a walk with my boyfriend, and for dinner I made dairy and gluten free pizza again.
I've taken very few supplements today, apart from drinking plenty of kefir, taking digestive enzymes and a total of four capsules of adrenal glandulars.
I really think the glandulars are working, I feel a lot more energetic. I didn't get an energy slump today at all. But although I feel like it, I can't say for sure. I have to wait to see how this develops.
My juicer broke down completely today and I had to throw it out. I had already chopped all the vegetables for it so I threw them in the blender instead (vitamix). Two limes, bunch of lettuce, piece of ginger, stalk of celery. Of course, since it's a blender, I had to add water, which makes the drink taste a lot less strong than the delicious concentrated juicer that comes out of a juicer. It was nevertheless a nice refreshing drink.
Now it's 8pm, I'm gonna work a bit on another book review for this website and then go to bed. See if I can wake up early tomorrow and make some nice lunch for myself.
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
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Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
Ending the Diet
2017 Update
Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
Monday
Woke up tired - but only slept six hours.
Breakfast: three glasses of kefir, thyroid/ adrenal glandular, B-vit, digestive enzyme.
At work:
Porridge (I think). The oats may have a little gluten in them but otherwise the porridge is made out of soya milk, and it has berries and some honey, as well as seeds on top.
Tuesday to Thursday
Don't remember what I ate but everything was gluten and dairy free. On Thursday I had the following for lunch: Small Itsu 7-veg pot with brown rice and added pickled ginger. It also had shredded carrot in it unfortunately (I have a food intolerance to carrots).
Friday, 1st February 2013
I didn't write down what I had for breakfast, but it was gluten and dairy free.
AM snack:
Pineapple, mango and passion-fruit smoothie from Marks & Spencer.
Lunch: Crussh Mexican lentil soup with a pack of black pepper Kettle crisps.
PM snack:
Berry smoothie from M&S
Dinner:
Spicy vegetable soup
Two glasses of white wine spritzer (50% sparkling water)
Live water
Two gluten-free toasts with hummus and pepper
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 28.
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Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
Ending the Diet
2017 Update
Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
Saturday, 2nd February 2013
I woke up around 9am with a very puffy face. I'm not sure if it was because of the wine last night - probably. I also had a cough. I don't feel the effect of the wine at all (it wasn't much anyway) but I do feel a bit groggy. Just had three rice cakes with raspberry jam for breakfast, together with thyroid-and-adrenal glandular supplement, B-vitamin supplement, and C-vitamins, as well as two cups of herbal tea.
Breakfast:
Omelette with mushroom, potatoes, cayenne pepper, salt, soya milk, soya sauce.
Brunch at a friend's house: fruit salad with lots of rose tea and avocado, banana, maple syrup.
Went out to town for shopping and took these as snacks with me:
Apple juice, enzymes, glandulars, dark chocolate (dairy and gluten free), raw snack bars.
Drank a glass of white wine with sparkling water in town.
Dinner: Chinese take-away curry with white rice.
Evening: Met with friends and drank plenty of white wine and sparkling water.
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27.
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Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
Ending the Diet
2017 Update
Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
Sunday, 3rd February 2013
Woke up a little hangover, had scrambled eggs with greens and a little bit of rice cracker.
Hangover went quickly but felt a bit tired again through the day - and demotivated to get anything done.
Lunch: potato bread with home-made mayonnaise, herbal tea.
Evening: 2.5 small glasses of white wine spritzer (50% sparkling water).
Got extremely tired after drinking the wine - tried to combat it with enzymes, kefir, thin green smoothie (made of lettuce, coriander, cayenne pepper, turmeric, whole lemon, water.
This made me feel a bit better, went to bed at 11.30pm.
Supplements through the day as usual.
And here my diary notes stop. I was still gluten and dairy free until Tuesday the 5th February but on the following Wednesday, while waiting for the plane, I had a half-pint of beer with a falafel salad, or something similar. So the beer definitely included gluten and the food most likely so as well. And on the airplane I had a headache when landing - not sure if it had anything to do with gluten as it could have very easily been just dehydration. I had, however, had further gluten on the plane, in the form of a white bread roll with vegetables and possibly cheese - I don't remember the exact ingredients anymore.
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
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Ending the Diet
2017 Update
Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
Benefits I have experienced from the dairy and gluten free diet so far (Day 27):
It has been almost a month and in a way I have made huge progress - but unfortunately that has been mostly due to other reasons than the dairy- and gluten free diet! I am a little disappointed that I still woke up with a blocked nose this morning. This must either mean that there is something other than gluten and dairy that causes congestion in me - or, that I haven't done the diet long enough.
I will still continue this for a few days but I'm going on holiday back home to Finland on Thursday and will probably stop the diet there. On my return, I will revise this diet and start a new one - possibly one free of all grains, not only gluten. I don't think, however, that I am ready to go on a raw food diet until I have permanently cleared my cough (i.e. strengthened my digestion) and got my energies up. Or perhaps I am ready for a raw food diet as long as I take the enzymes and glandulars. Not sure yet, I will decide after the holidays and plan a new diet.
After this trial I sometimes ate dairy, sometimes not, but the symptoms I would get from eating dairy became worse and worse. Now, if I eat butter and/or cheese, I get sinus congestion and sinus headache. Eating small amounts of dairy regularly causes a chronic cough and makes speaking more difficult, as I have to constantly clear my throat and I find it difficult to get my voice out. Chest tightness may also be a linked problem, I'm not sure.
Therefore I live mostly dairy free now, which however worries my dietitian to the extent that she recommends I take calcium supplements. Her view is that dairy is an important source of calcium. I do get dairy cravings and miss eating it, so it is possible that there is a nutrient there my body keeps craving. I also get less protein after cutting out dairy which may have been causing some problems in the past. However, the benefits I get from cutting out dairy are so clear and extensive that I definitely want to continue eating this way. Vegan cheese, cream and milks make life easier, and an occasional dairy- and gluten-free chocolate dessert is nice to have as well, although I do feel that the sinus and throat congestion gets less with avoidance of sugar also.
Dairy-free does not completely clear my sinus problems but eating dairy makes them 100x worse. Digestive enzymes seem to help with digesting the dairy better. I also take lactosolv enzymes sometimes to help break down lactose.
A more important realization than dairy has been the benefit of being gluten-, dairy- and cooked starch free! It took me a long time to try gluten free diet again after this diet, but this year, 2017, I have finally made the clear link between gluten/wheat/grains and stomach bloatedness. Whenever I stay grain-free (and dairy-free) my stomach goes almost flat, most of the bloatedness disappears and I don't have problems with gas almost at all. (Unless I eat certain foods that cause gas for me like onions, green peas, etc.)
The celiac test may have given a false-negative result, however, since I was eating a gluten-free diet at the time. Even though my Doctor said that whether you ate gluten or not did not make a difference to the test, the Dietitian I saw later confirmed that it definitely did make a difference and that one would have to eat two slices of bread per day for some weeks before the blood test for the Celiac disease to show in the results.
Therefore currently I eat cooked potatoes and small quantities of rice for starches. I also eat raw bananas. However, there is a clear link between IBS and starch intolerance which is explored in detail in this article: "Is Starch Worse for Your Health than Sugar?" Therefore the best diet for me seems to be one where I eat my starches raw - i.e. in smoothies in the form of sweet potato, banana, squash, etc.
I feel much healthier eating potatoes and rice for my starch (and therefore energy) needs. However, I do want to eventually move to eating the starches in raw form, as I believe that to give me many more benefits also. There are linked diet changes I have made with also many great benefits which are discussed here: My Natural Health Journey.
Jump to: Why Gluten-Free?, Why Dairy Free?, My Dairy and Gluten Free Diet Diary, Day 1, Day 3, Update: Fell Off Diet, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23-25, Day 26, Day 27, Day 28.
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Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
2017 Update
Gluten Sensitivity - Links and Further Reading
It is Tuesday the 19th February 2013, and I just came back from a two-week holiday in Finland, relaxing, spending time with family, doing hot-and-cold treatments with sauna and the outdoors, in the snowy landscape. I also went skiing and for walks in the fresh forest and seaside air.
I ate a mixed diet on the holiday, including dairy and gluten, but also drank alcohol. But I also ate plenty of healthy food: fish straight from the sea (cooked, obviously), salads, smoothies, and vegetable dishes. I also kept taking my B-vitamin, zinc and glandular supplements.
I didn't feel dizzy at all during the holidays, although on the airplane there I got a headache from the altitude change and possibly from having started to eat gluten and cheese again. This would support the thought that the dizziness was caused by the gluten and dairy withdrawal since the symptoms were non-existent as soon as I went back to eating those. Many people report feeling very good straight after eating foods they are addicted to but the negative symptoms follow with an initial delay.
I felt good during the holidays although I slept long nights. Now, after a long day of travelling yesterday, and back at my flat in London, I feel quite tired. I felt well in the morning but towards the afternoon I felt more tired. I think it is tiredness from the alcohol and it will pass in a couple of days. But from tomorrow I will begin my transition into a raw food diet.
I didn't actually put on any weight during the holidays, despite some pizzas, Chinese food, etc. but I got more bloated and my chin got fatter! I was really just enjoying all the food so much that I ate huge portions as well! So now from tomorrow, I will start preparing for my new raw food diet. I will first start eating raw breakfast and lunch. If I go out for a meal with anyone, I will allow myself to cheat on the diet but at home I will stick to these rules. I will continue to be dairy free and try to limit my grain intake as much as possible. I will also continue with the supplementation which seems to be helping a lot. The hair mineral analysis seems to have been a very useful thing to do.
Further notes:
This experiment lasted a total of 30 days and during it I gained many valuable insights. My journey to health seems to get a little more confused at points but I also get important realisations, which are slowly leading me towards better health. Next, however, I feel the need to take a larger leap. I don't feel the dairy and gluten free diet on its own is effective enough to get me the results and healing I feel I need. I will thus from tomorrow begin a transition to a high raw diet, which will also be dairy and gluten free, as well as free of all grains. I don't like how, during this experiment, I ended up eating lots of processed foods, such as bread and rice-flour products, as well as alcohol and deep-fried food, including crisps. These are not health foods at all, although allowed on a dairy and gluten free diet. So my next experiment will be a much healthier version of a dairy and gluten free diet, as well as high-raw. But I will need a period of transition, which will also allow me time to prepare snacks and other foods ready for the diet. A link to this new diary to follow soon.
Please note that as my health journey progresses I will periodically revisit all the articles and diaries and update them with any new realizations/ insights.
Please refer to my article: Gluten Free Diet Benefits to see links to video and books for further study on this topic. I also have recipes for gluten free pizza and gluten free bread in that article, as well as general information on the benefits of being gluten free.
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Jump to chapter:
Benefits I Experienced from the Dairy and Gluten Free Diet
Ending the Diet
2017 Update
Dr. Joseph Mercola: The No-Grain Diet
James Braly: "Dangerous Grains: Why Gluten Cereal Grains May Be Hazardous To Your Health"
Dr. William Davis: "Wheat Belly"
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Ulla is the Editor of Cheap Health Revolution, covering natural remedies and health solutions. Read more about Ulla and this website here: "About CHR"