Mi“grain”e

In an effort to avoid the pain and health issues related to migraines, I have changed the way I eat since almost all of my migraines are caused by food sensitivities.

At the beginning of 2009, I caught a parasite, even though I didn’t have that confirmed until September, 2010. The parasites changed how my body dealt with foods, and I became sensitive to more foods. By last summer, it seemed foods I had been able to eat were suddenly causing migraines, but not every time I ate them. Frustrating. And then the issue of restricting my intake to a relatively small number of food meant I was not getting the variety I needed. This meant that when I ate too much of a previously OK food, my body would react to “too much of a good thing.” Some days, I only ate meat – I can almost always tolerate meat.

Once the parasites were gone, I realized that, although my system was better, I still was having too many migraines and other health issues, and I still wasn’t gaining weight. I went to a new naturopath to see if he could give me answers my regular naturopath didn’t seem to have. He saw signs of problems and changed my health regimen. It seems to be working, although very slowly.

One thing he changed was my food. I have been following the “Eat Right 4 Your Type” (ER4YT) diet since 1998, and I noticed a big change in my health. When I eat the things I shouldn’t, I pay! A few years ago, my naturopath suggested the “Low Oxylate” diet to reduce the amount of inflammation in my body, thereby reducing my joint pain levels. Wow, did that make a big difference. The new naturopath suggested I don’t follow the Low Oxylate diet as stringently, but to still avoid foods I know cause problems. He wanted me to broaden the variety of my diet in an effort to improve my health and help me gain weight.

I’ve known since my 20s of my wheat allergy and have eaten it very sparingly since then. In trying other grains over the years – amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, barley, millet – I still found I couldn’t eat much without problems. The ER4YT diet suggests that for the O blood type there are no beneficial grains. They are either neutral – meaning they should be eaten occasionally for the minerals they contain – or avoided altogether. Instead of grains, I have increased the variety and amount of nuts I eat. Many of the same minerals are found in both grains and nuts. I have lived happily like this for many years.

The new naturopath also suggested I eat more grains. I have found when I get really hungry and nothing else seems to satisfy, I eat a serving or two of rice and the hunger is sated. He suggested the only way I will be able to regain the weight is to eat more grains. So, since the beginning of February, I have been trying more grains than just rice. I like cooked millet so I started with that. And I tried amaranth. I seemed to recall buckwheat was a bad idea for me, so I haven’t tried that, and I thought I also recalled quinoa caused trouble too. Thought I would go with the safe ones first.

Well, it would appear that for me, there is no real “safe” grain. Thursday for dinner, I made another pot of millet, and boy did I suffer! In the middle of the night I awoke with a migraine that did not leave until late Monday morning. Boo! And, although a serving or two of rice doesn’t cause too much trouble, I ate it too soon after the millet. I had a migraine and stomach cramps again this morning. The migraine, thankfully, has mostly left, but the digestion will likely be cranky for a couple more days. Although I have regained some weight, these migraines take off a few pounds too. Three ahead, one back. At least I have been able to reintroduce a greater variety of veggies and fruit – and that is hopeful. I think I’ll continue to avoid the grains.

Until next time, thank God for all the wonderful foods He has provided for us...