The Reluctant Raw Foodist
"I used to be a' foodie' and now I am a "foodist'"
Welcome to my health and wellbeing blog.
I’m not a raw foodist by choice. I was recently diagnosed as having a complicated autoimmune condition including severe Histamine Intolerance and a form of reactive arthritis. I have become hypersensitive to high histamine foods, pollen, dust and some everyday chemicals. My condition affects every area of my life.
I have Mast Cell Activation Disease (MCAD).
I was prescribed a low histamine diet and then a raw food diet to ease my symptoms and over the past 2 years I have overcome my reluctance to a new way of eating and living. I have been experimenting to combine the two diets and I have been learning how to eat a diet comprising mainly of low histamine raw fruit and vegetables and how to change the habits of a life time.
I am starting to feel healthier than I have ever been before. I have also lost 35 lbs in weight.
I will be sharing with you how I got here and I'll be exploring low histamine raw recipes, natural beauty products, how to cope with being "allergic to everything" and generally how to regain health and fitness and live life to the full despite my unusual condition!
Please feel free to message me with any suggestions, questions, or comments. I'd love to hear from you!
Everything I post is the property of its respective owner/creator unless stated otherwise. Everything will have a click-through link whenever possible. If you see something of yours that I have posted and would like me to take it down, please message me and I will remove it.
These are some ads for where I buy my coconut water and stuff like that :
My supper tonight
(via mysteriouslives)
The Reluctant Raw Foodist
Hey, Loads of recipes on my blog and please sign up to my mailing list for more recipes and some offers on the way…..:))
(via mysteriouslives)
If it isn’t what you great grandmother would recognise as food then don’t eat it!
I love this and always reblog it when I see it!
(via mysteriouslives)
![Yup! I always shop “on the edge” these days! :)
kelleykelleymoore:
=] eeeeks —-Kelley♥](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltjf8vhfq51qdty8mo1_500.jpg)
Watch “Forks Over Knives” - trailer here - so worth it! T. Colin Campbell. Ph.D - He makes a lot of sense and explains how he changed his views on meat eating as a result of his research. I greatly enjoyed reading about his work in his book “The China Study” and I found “Forks over Knives” inspirational. My health has changed immeasurably since I radically altered my diet.
#teamvegan #vegan #veganism (Taken with Instagram)
The reason I cannot use all these things …..
Johnson & Johnson Pledges To Purge Controversial Chemicals
- Under pressure from consumer groups, Johnson & Johnson has decided to curb or eliminate a slew of ingredients from its beauty and baby care products.
The company says all the chemicals — including some preservatives and trace byproducts — are safe in the concentrations found in the products. Nevertheless, the company acknowledges that some people remain concerned about the risks.
The affected products are generally regulated as cosmetics, and range from baby shampoos to skin creams. J&J says it will make the same commitment for its sunscreens and acne remedies, which are regulated as over-the-counter medicines. Besides its iconic baby products, Johnson & Johnson also makes the popular Aveeno, Lubriderm, Neutrogena and RoC skin care lines.
The chemicals involved range from triclosan, an antibacterial ingredient, to some that release small amounts of formaldehyde, such as the preservative quaternium-15. Read More
Dr. Jay’s Note: This is a nice move in the right direction. Decreasing the overall chemical stress load will improve our ability to adapt to all of the other stressors of life.
Having drunk up my breakfast smoothie I am rushing around getting ready to go to the Ballet at Sadlers Wells this afternoon. I am going to see Matthew Bourne’s Play without Words. Review here
My birthday tomorrow and I am being treated. Yahay!
It will be interesting to see what London is like as I have not been since the Olympics started. It was getting very busy in the run up.
I have had very few episodes of overt Mast Cell Activation of late so I am hoping I can sit throughout the performance without feeling ill from all the perfume and chemicals around me :))
As soon as I get on a plane I fall asleep. It seems as though my brain cuts out. I think I react to the air pressure/ air conditioning. The air stewards usually cannot wake me. I also cannot cope with the smell of strong perfume as my body starts to go into shock. I can have a problem on air conditioned trains but at least I can switch seats to avoid perfume. I have had my things stolen from me on trains in the past as I was so deeply asleep I did not notice. My condition is better now that I do not eat high histamine, triggering foods. Maybe air travel is a thing of the past for me? Pros and cons….
Hmm thinking about whether to try again and see….
What I do believe is that when I changed my diet I eliminated a lot of the foods that were either causing and or contributing to my condition.
Why do I believe this?
When I moved to a plant based diet my symptoms faded away. Some disappeared almost immediately others followed more slowly. I didn’t take to this diet change easily and I didn’t get it right first time. I have experimented a lot and suffered a lot of recurrences of my symptoms.
Now, if I try elements of my old diet I can get massive joint pain flareup/muscle weakness/ chronic fatigue/ migraine/ rash on my face and or body/ diarrhoea/ sudden sleep/ swollen dry eyes/ brain fog/ stomach ache/ choking/ vomiting/ dizziness/ intense pain in the soles of my feet… quickly and usually over night.
Why do I even try foods that hurt me? You see, I used to eat these foods all the time and just very occasionally now I rebel/can’t resist trying a little/ can’t believe that I can no longer eat them/ even forget! Fortunately (?) even a mouthful or two usually reminds me as my mouth starts to get sore and my tongue often starts to swell…. so I do not eat much of the offending food. I am talking about basic foods such as a piece of new bread or a small piece of (raw) chocolate here, nothing fancy!
On a low histamine diet one is still “allowed” young cheese such as feta or mozzarella but these produce severe reactions in me as stated above. I eliminated eggs from my diet for the same reason.
I do believe that my simple plant based high raw diet (lots of fruit and greens, some nuts and seeds) provides me with a load of nutrients which help my body to calm the inflammation within. My immune system approves, that’s all I know.
I don’t believe I am being “cured”. I do believe that, with my current diet and lifestyle, I am holding my illness at bay and giving my body the best chance it has to heal itself.
Now you know why I call myself The Reluctant Raw Foodist :)
