Food Alergies Could be Causing Weight Gain

I have already talked about my discovery about my dairy allergy in my previous blog post Could You be Allergic to Dairy and Not Know It?   I was watching an episode of the Doctor Oz show recently and besides the benefits of not feeling congested any more, I didn't even connect the fact that I had lost weight after my allergy discovery and changing what I was eating.  I had never connected the two before, but it made so much sense after hearing the medical explanation.

I found out from this episode that the most common food allergies are to dairy and wheat.  As many as 60% of people have allergies to dairy, and people can lose as much as 30 pounds of weight by just eliminating food allergens from their diets!  That's just crazy!  I didn't lose that much weight, but I'll bet it was close to 15 pounds.  The weight was just falling off without really trying.  I had first contributed it to not eating the fatty cheeses, ice cream, etc., but there may have been additional factors at work which I didn't realize.  Here is a link to the summary of that segment of the show: Doctor Oz's Anti-Allergy Diet  The experts were saying that one common reason why people plateau when loosing weight is that they are carrying around a lot of inflammation from eating foods that their bodies are having subtle negative reactions to and they are not even aware of it. This systemic inflammation is preventing further weight loss and causing bloating and other problems with digestion. 

This segment also discussed many hidden sources of dairy allergens, many which I had discovered through trial and error.  Other ingredients to avoid besides the obvious "milk" are ingredients such as cream, milk protein, casein, whey, lactate, etc.  These hidden dairy items can be found in some crazy places most of us might be really surprised to find them in, such as: deli meats, canned tuna, protein shake mixes, energy bars, baked goods, and bread, and other processed foods.  Read the labels on the foods you are eating or eat more natural foods without labels.  This link above also gives you a 3 week plan for removing the problem foods from your diet, repairing the digestive tract from the damage done by eating the wrong foods, and then slowly trying to add back possible foods after noting the subtle ways your body reacts to them through keeping a journal.

I hope this additional information about dairy allergies might help some of you be more aware of what might be preventing you from losing the weight you want and help you feel better in a long list of ways.

Healthier Soft Drink Alternatives

Have you been trying to cut back on your soft drink consumption to either lose weight, save money, or just be healthier.  Me too.  Here are some suggestions you might want to try to bring some variety into your choices and make it a little easier to opt for the healthier choice:

I'll bet most of you have a coffee machine.  When you are done with your morning cup of joe, the machine sits there lonely all day.  Put it to use making a batch of iced tea.  You don't need any special machines like some companies would like to make you believe.  You already own it.

In the spot where you normally put your coffee filter, place the tea bags, with no additional filter, fill up your water reservoir to the top and let her rip.  For a 2 quart container, 4 regular sized tea bags or 2 family sized tea bags are a good start.  For a gallon container, try 3-4 family sized bags.  Adjust the number of tea bags to your taste.  If your coffee pot has an extra feature for brewing smaller pots of coffee, like 1-4 cups, turn this on as well.  It will preheat the water a bit more making the brew a little stronger.  In the meantime, fill up your drink pitcher half way with ice.  When it's done brewing, pour the hot tea over the ice and top off with additional water, if needed.  If you like it sweet, now is the time to add your sweetener, then give it a stir.  Instead of sugar, you might want to try a no calorie natural sweetener made from the stevia plant, like Truvia, or an other alternative sweetener like Agave Nectar, which has a lower glycemic index, which means it will not spike your blood sugar as much as regular sugar does.  Personally, I keep mine unsweetened, so everyone can make theirs the way they like it, or just drink it unsweetened.  Agave nectar also dissolves better in cold liquids, since its a syrup instead of crystals, so it can easily be added later.

Have you ever noticed how many different types of teas are out there?  Every type I tried is also great iced.  Think of how many options you have: green, black, oolong, spiced like chai, fruit blends, herbals like peppermint or chamomile, rooibos, and so many in between!  Many have wonderful health benefits as an added bonus.  Don't forget, if you are trying to cut back on your caffeine intake, opt for the decaf versions or one of the herbal, rooibos, or fruit types.  Maybe even try a half-caf version, half regular tea bags an half decaf tea bags, to start to ween yourself off your caffeine habit.

If you are missing the little bubbles in your soft drinks, try some of the flavored seltzer waters on the market now.  Beware of the ones containing artificial sweeteners.  For a cheaper alternative try the unflavored seltzer waters, the store brands are just as good, and add a splash of cranberry, pomegranate, orange, or grapefruit juice, or squeeze a lemon or lime in for some added flavor.  If you go for the fruit juices, read the labels and try to choose ones that have no added sugars and are 100% juice.  Use your imagination.  You might just find a new favorite.

Could you be allergic to dairy and not know it?

I was.  Correction, I still am, but didn't know it until just a few years ago.  I thought I had outgrown my allergies to dairy around age 5.  Instead, my symptoms of my allergies had changed and were making me miserable for years and I didn't know why.  Even the doctors I saw about my symptoms, were more eager to treat my symptoms with a blanket type treatment of allergy medication rather than finding the root of my allergy problems.

When I was a young child, milk, cheese, ice cream, even milk chocolate would give me severe stomach cramps and diarrhea.  I remember my uncle taking me out for a treat of ice cream against my parent's wishes.  I wasn't about to turn it down.  It tasted great!  Unfortunately, I would pay for it later.  Around age 5, it seemed I had begun to outgrow my allergy to dairy.  No more stomach cramps and gastrointestinal issues.

I remember growing up, for as long as I can remember, I used to sneeze shortly after I woke up.  Sometimes uncontrollably for 15 minutes or more.  I tried all kinds of stuff thinking it might work.  I finally just decided it must be the change in temperature from getting out of bed, allergens in the air or something like that which was out of my control.  I would just get up a little earlier, sneeze my head off, and get on with my day.  You adapt and move on.  As I got older it got more difficult to breath through my nose.  Again, I thought it was just pollen, dust, smoke, or other stuff in the air.  I may have had allergies to those things as well.  Little did I know that they were not the root of my problems. 

After college and getting a good job with good insurance, I finally decided that I would get a specialist to see if he could figure out what could help.  By this point, I gradually had almost completely lost the ability to breath through my nose unless I took decongestants, which would make my heart race due to the pseudophedrine.  After surgery to fix a deviated septum (a crooked area of cartilage that goes down the center of the nose between the nostrils), I still was prescribed a regular cocktail of nasal steroid inhalers and systemic allergy pills to keep my symptoms somewhat under control.  Over time I would become immune to one treatment or another and would have to try another combination.  They were very expensive and really didn't resolve everything.  I adapted as best I could, and thought I would be stuck with these problems forever. Even other specialists I consulted could not offer other solutions that would work better.

Of all places to find a solution, several years back I was reading a new book I picked up on exercise.  8 Minutes in the Morning, by Jorge Cruise.  On one of his daily inspirational pages before the exercises of the day, he had a quick little paragraph about dairy allergies and the common symptoms.  It sounded somewhat familiar, so I figured what could it hurt to try cutting out dairy for two weeks? I had been allergic as a child, so it was not completely out of the question.  Low and behold, without altering my medication doses, I started noticing improvement after only a week.  By two weeks, I could breath better than I ever remembered.  One by one, I stopped taking my allergy meds to see if the great luck continued.  Sure enough.  I'm off all allergy meds for several years now and the only time I experience problems is when I have a moment of weakness and eat dairy.  Darn pizza!  Yogurt, for some reason seems to be the exception to the rule.  It doesn't seem to bother me much.  Maybe because it is fermented?  I don't know.  Jorge also mentioned in his article that many cases of asthma are actually a symptom of undiagnosed dairy allergies!  He said, the actual thing in dairy that causes these type of allergies is the protein called Casein.  This milk protein can also be found in many "dairy free" cheese alternatives and whey protein powders found in many protein shake mixes.  Read the labels!

Could you or someone you love also have dairy allergies and not know it?  Why don't you try cutting out all milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt, butter, coffee creamer, etc. for two weeks and see what happens?  In the beginning it may not be easy, but cutting out the medications and feeling so much better is so worth it.  There are many other alternatives out there now to make this transition easier than it ever has been before.

It's Cold Outside!

I know.  I hear some of you already.  "You are in Florida.  You don't know what cold is!"  Well, last night it got down in the 20's here.  With the humidity here in FL, I don't care what anyone says... It's COLD!!  With the wind, it rips right through to chill you to the bone.  Maybe my blood has thinned from living in the South too long.  Who knows?  Burrrrr

Anyway, thought I'd share a little tip to keep your toes warm on those chilly nights.

Confiscate one of hubby's old sweat socks.  You know the kind.  The long ones that go halfway up his calf or higher.  Fill it about half way with white rice.  This is a good way to use up some of that "not as good for you" white rice.  Brown rice will work also, if that is all you have.  Yes, it does sound silly.  Just do it!  Tie off the top as close to the top of the sock as you can without it coming loose, or if you are a bit handy with a needle and thread, stitch it up good and tight.  Don't be lazy and staple it, like I've seen some people try to repair a hem on their pants on the fly at work, or you will be in trouble later.

Here's the magic part.  Pop your sock in the microwave for 30-45 seconds on high.  See, if you had stapled it closed, you might have blown up your microwave or started a fire.  Not good.  BEEP, BEEP, BEEP  Take it out.  Oooh, Ahhh, so nice and toasty! Throw it down at the foot of the bed and you have a toasty toe heater.  It retains the heat surprisingly long.  Best part is that it didn't cost anything.  You already had everything in your house already.  I wouldn't advise eating the rice anymore though. :o)

This also works well as a heating pad for sore or tight muscles, or for those dreaded monthly cramps.  Sock isn't big enough to wrap around your neck to get those tight, stressed out, neck and shoulder muscles?  Try an old pillow case or cut up and old towel (or use two hand towels) and sew it into a loose kidney shape like you see those travel pillows that wrap around your neck in those fancy executive gadget stores.  Want something a little prettier?  Try some cute fleece on the remnant pile at your local craft/fabric store.  Maybe you even have a coupon that you can use to get some extra money off.  (More on couponing later)