If you are going grain free in the New Year, or even if you have been for a while, you may need to take extra care to avoid allergens and chemicals in foods. This is what I have been learning, anyway. Even eating the same amount of spicy dishes that I used to enjoy can cause distress. I think this is because the starch in the bread or rice or noodles used to act as a buffer. Spicy foods were among my favorites. I can no longer enjoy Indian restaurants because my system can’t handle those sauces without the rice and naan bread to go along with it.
Even more distressing than spices are chemicals. Perhaps it was naeive of me, but I didn’t realize most Pho has MSG. (if you don’t know about Pho, refer to my previous post). I never had any allergic reactions to it before. Then the last two times I tried it, I ordered it without noodles. I was looking forward to this comforting treat becuase the broth is so good for colds. It is essentially a beef bone broth with wonderful complexity. They slow cook it for hours…. delicious. However, a few minutes after eating, I broke into a flu-like reaction, with muscle weakness and something like a hot flash…but different. It’s hard to explain. It wasn’t unpleasant, but very curious. I thought it was because I had a cold. Well, I went again the following week and the same thing happened again. Even though I had eaten Pho at that restaurant a dozen times, I had only begun to have the allergic reaction when I asked them to hold the noodles. I am not a doctor, but I feel my experience has shown me that there is a link. I hypothesize that it is easier to overload the system when you are avoiding grains. The same size bowl of soup has the same amount of MSG, but my body reacts to it only when the noodles aren’t present. I thought I had finally found a way to enjoy my favorite food, but I am truly foiled! If I choose to make it myself someday, it will take hours and hours. Apparently the only way to get the same taste without the MSG is rock sugar. It goes without saying that if I am going grain-free, I am avoiding sugar, too. I will have to check the amount……
Has anybody had any experiences like this?
About the Author...
Audrey's first love is massage. She is currently a student of energy work but is always up for a new challenge on "earth school." Audrey works part-time in the food and wine industry and is in the process of re-evaluating her relationship to food. She strives, above all, to be authentic as she finds her own way to health.
Jan 20th, 2010 at 11:39 am
Audrey,
Neurosurgeon, Dr. Russell Blaylok explains this biochemical process in his books, “Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills” (1994), and my FAVORITE Resource “Health and Nutrition Secrets That Can Save Your Life” (2002). Basically he urges everyone to avoid all excitoxins, including MSG (and all or it’s secret names). However, if you must consume a food w/MSG (as when eating out or anything packaged), then be sure to take a high dose, buffered Vitamin C before eating and to eat w/sugar/carbs to slow the effect of the free glutamate rushing through your blood/brain barrier. The damage MSG does is permanent and takes years to show up often in the form of MS, ALS, dementia and Parkinson’s, particularly if your are genetically predisposed.
Hope this helps. So grain free is GREAT but you are correct. No MSG, especially without sugars to slow glutamate down/inhibit it’s flow to the brain.
Robin
Jan 29th, 2010 at 6:31 am
I’ve heard similar things before - you’re not alone with these hypotheses.
Feb 4th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
” If I choose to make it myself someday, it will take hours and hours. ”
It’s true, but if you have a slow cooker/crock pot, you just throw in a bunch of leftover bones, veggie bits and water, and turn it on. If you do it in the morning, it’s a nice hot broth for your dinner. If you do it at night, it’s lunch for the next day. It is actually less work than making a regular soup that needs ingredients added at different times.
I like to save up bones and veggie scraps in the freezer until I have enough, then make a big, full pot of broth that can be used over a week.
I recently found that after a cleanse and a short fast, my palate and body have been resensitized to spicy foods which I used to love. It has also become very sensitive to foods that I have mild intolerances to but used to eat without knowing they were causing problems. This is bad in the sense that there are more foods I can’t/won’t eat, but very, very good in the sense that I’m able to tell what my body does and does not want me to eat, and that I am eating so many more nutrient-rich foods that are allowing me to heal in so many ways.
Thanks for the post and good luck on your journey!
Feb 22nd, 2010 at 11:38 pm
wow. how weird, but i guess it makes sense! i didn’t know this so thank you for sharing your experience :)
Mar 10th, 2010 at 9:16 am
Melisser, I’ve decided to try making homemade pho broth. I’ll be sure to write about it when I am done. I am interested to know about your cleansing and fasting routine. I have been struggling with the competing beliefs that I need to cleanse and that it isn’t possible due to the insulin resistance issue. Thanks for your post.