All in All the Paleo diet is going so very very well! The health improvements are monumental and the food is so yummy that it almost feels wrong. LOL
I have also pinpointed some foods that give me inflammation and bloating. Definitively connected cause and effect by first eliminating then introducing the foods.
Not surprising:
Grains/ Sugars give me brain fog, moodiness and slowness.
Dairy gives me immediate pain and bloating! (soft cheeses, milk, ice cream, sour cream, yogurt)
Completely shocked:
Tomatoes give me GI distress and joint pain.
WHAT?! I love tomatoes! L-O-V-E tomatoes... sauced, fresh, dried, stewed.... yum.
How did I learn this terrible news?! Since I cut out pasta, the tomatoes are not served as often (spaghetti was a staple dinner before). And fresh tomatoes just aren't good around here this time of year so I haven't been adding them to the salads. I was easily able to make a direct correlation between my gastric issues and when I ate the tomatoes. :( And now the intermittent joint stiffness makes sense too.
I was completely sidelined by that revelation since tomatoes are fine on Paleo. Now, I need to follow this one step further and cut out ALL the nightshades for a month. What if it's not just tomatoes, what if it's the whole family? Potatoes, Peppers, some spices, they could all be affecting me this way making my gut "leaky" and spastic. I have come this far with my food education, I will do this next step too. After the clean month I will try potatoes first and then the spices. HOPEFULLY all will go well and I just have to worry about my beloved tomatoes, why couldn't it be turnips that bugged me, I could easily leave out turnips!
Knowledge is power.
Through this process I have learned so much about my own body. Now I can choose to feel good! Just by knowing which foods make me feel bad and making conscious bites.
