I realize that I’ve mentioned having some issues with food on a number of occasions, but have never really bothered to explain them fully in a post, so you probably have no idea what I’ve been talking about.
And I’m sure you’re just dying to know, right?
Of course, this confusion may also apply to any number of other topics I’ve covered, but that’s not your fault either.
Anyway, the fact of the matter is that I suffer from a severe intolerance to almost any form of sugar or carbohydrates.
This condition is unknown in origin, and produces any number of extremely unamusing results if I choose to indulge, particularly where wheat or grains are concerned.
Man, that picture smells good, doesn’t it? Blast!!
For example, if I were to have pizza for dinner tonight, the immediate result would be a very elevated heart rate, which would persist for several hours, to the point of chest pains. I would also get extremely tired, and probably fall asleep on the couch for a while.
During the night, I would most likely have itchy skin, hives, and nasty nightmares. I would wake up more often than usual, and need to take several whey protein supplements (which I refer to as “Glurp”) just to get through to morning. I have to do that pretty much every night, in fact.
There would also be certain…unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms to go along with all of this.
The next day, or possibly even the next few days, I would feel extremely tired and groggy, quite depressed, and be in a mental fog most of the time.
And keep in mind that this is all from a single meal.
If I were to eat this way on any consistent basis, I would be rendered fairly nonfunctional in a very short period of time. My symptoms would grow progressively more extreme, to include things like blurred vision, rashes, severe night sweats, popping ears – you name it.
And it isn’t just foods like pizza and similar carbohydrates that cause the issue to occur. “Healthy” carbs such as whole grains, beans, fruit and milk (and even certain vegetables) can bring on the same reactions, so I can only consume them in great moderation, if at all.
Therefore my diet tends to be limited to meat, cheese, non-starchy vegetables, fats, and nuts. Not a lot to choose from, and as you can imagine, this much restriction gets rather frustrating after a while – especially when other people are eating tasty-looking things in my presence. My boyfriend is quite the carboholic, unfortunately for me.
It really requires willpower of iron to stick to the diet, but the severity of my symptoms is a powerful incentive. It simply isn’t worth the price I pay to eat something “good.”
This condition began when I was around 22 years old, and has grown progressively worse over time, despite visits to a wide range of fairly clueless medical professionals.
I think the only reason I did not notice it as a younger person was that I grew up in a pretty low-carb household – mainly because my father is also extremely sugar sensitive, and simply cannot control himself in its presence. And for financial reasons, even things like fruit and milk tended to be rationed out as they were available.
But in college I had free access to any number of simple carbohydrates and junk foods, as well as a limited income, and so that is where the difficulty really began.
If I had to guess (which of course I do, because no one really has any idea what’s going on with me), I would generalize that these symptoms are probably related to the same sensitivities that allow me to read the energies of other people, and which also make me unusually reactive to things like bright lights, sudden noises, and crowds.
My body is extremely reactive to temperature changes as well – in the winter I have dangerous episodes of hypothermia, with my temperature dropping as low as 91 degrees.
And in the summer any temperature over 75 degrees makes me prickle and itch all over violently, as if I were being stabbed by hundreds of tiny needles. Strong emotions can produce this result as well (and this prickly business is a very recent development).
In fact, I really have never met anyone else who is as sensitive to life in general as I am. Fortunately I am also very strong willed and a good problem-solver, so I have never let these issues stand in my way to any significant degree.
I have somehow still managed to do well in school and at work, have good relationships, and experience life to the best of my ability. I try to stay as positive as possible, because everything in life really does have a silver lining somewhere.
I’ve also succeeded in improving this condition immensely over the twenty years that I have suffered from it, by adjusting my diet and habits, so that I am at least able to function most of the time, and get things done.
But all of this helps to explain why I tend to spend more time by myself than with others, and more time indoors than outdoors, because I am extremely open to energetic input, and I find it drains my already limited resources.
Working for myself at home allows me to control the amount of stimulation I receive, and helps me to maintain my own energy reserves.
And I really DO need to uphold my energy in order to help other people with their own, in the form of conducting aura readings, etc. So it’s extremely important to me that I maintain good health and high vibrations on a consistent basis.
Also it just feels better, of course, and I get a lot more done that way!
Lately I’ve been having more low-energy days than high, however, despite my very best efforts in sticking to my diet and other good habits, such as exercise and meditation.
I’ve also lost a substantial amount of weight in recent weeks, largely because there are so few foods that I can successfully handle at the moment, so I tend to avoid eating as much as possible, which obviously isn’t a good thing. I’m 5’10″ tall, but only weigh 133 lbs, which is verging on quite underweight.
Part of the problem is that even my “good” foods are starting to cause reactions now if eaten in any quantity, so I’m forced to consume very small meals (no bigger than fist-sized, total), in an attempt to avoid overloading the system. I have to eat like a gastric-bypass patient, in other words, even though I’m not.
So this situation has reached something of a crisis point, and as you can imagine, I’m becoming more than a little exasperated with it, as it is getting in the way of my more important life goals, and starting to threaten other aspects of my health.
That’s why I’ve decided to go on the proverbial warpath, in an effort to improve it.
It occurred to me that any ventures I might make in this area could be helpful to other people as well, since anything I might try for myself would probably be multiplied tenfold in effectiveness for someone with a less persnickety constitution.
For that reason it is my intention to experiment with all sorts of different modalities, including traditional medical, herbal, spiritual, vibrational, crystal, etc., and to report on the outcomes, both here and on my Facebook page, in the hopes that other people might benefit from anything I discover in my personal “Auraboratory.”
I plan to be my own guinea pig this time, in other words, and I hope that we will all get something out of it. I’m a practical girl, and I like to look for solutions to my problems in both the physical and the spiritual realm.
Because the truth is that all forms of energy are intricately interrelated – physical, mental, spiritual, and otherwise. You really cannot have one fully functional without developing all the others as well.
In my particular situation, I am far more aware of this fact that most people, and thus I consider myself a perfect subject for all different kinds of energy experimentation.
So stay tuned, and let the games begin!
I have this fantastic thing where I tend to have my stress manifest in wonderful, physical ways. For example, that fantastic skin rash I developed and struggled with for about a year. I went to all sorts of doctors (in fact, I somehow wrangled myself an appointment with one of the best dermatologists in the country), got tested for all sorts of allergic reactions, and was given medication that managed to give me seemingly permanent (though now manageable) anxiety. Of course, as soon as I broke up with the guy who was being traumatically mentally abusive, the mystery rash… mysteriously disappeared.
I hope you find a way to manage lady. Don’t slip away into that lovely purple land. Learn to love your lovely little red chakra. Red, red, red, red, sweet earthy red.
Wow, I’m sorry to hear that. I do find that nothing manages anxiety like meditation, though. It’s such a lifesaver for me, especially on my low-energy days.
And don’t worry – the first therapy I’m trying is very, very red. I’ll report on that shortly.
I wonder if you could get a session with Carolyn Myss? I’m not sure if she still does medical intuitive readings, but if there was ever a person who understood things like this, it’s her. I told you I am just getting interested in this, maybe I can find some ideas for you. On other people’s energy…I’d be interested to hear how you’re now managing your own energy and interactions with others because THAT I may be able to help you with right now.
Oh, I’ve certainly heard of Caroline, but isn’t she like, super famous and whatnot? Probably way out of my league.
I’m not sure what you mean about managing my interactions with others, so maybe if you clarify a little I can answer that question better. Thanks so much for your interest, I can certainly use all the help I can get!
Wow, Jen, you DO have a persnickety constitution. I’m sorry about your sensitivities.
I have a sensitivity to sugar in that it gives me severe stomach cramps and bloating, as well as sapping my energy. I do eat something sweet on occasion, but only if I’ve been very very good about avoiding it for a good amount of time. It does make it easier to keep my weight down. (I’m 5’4″ and weigh around 108.) It took years for me to figure that out!
I went through a stretch of time in the ’90′s that was extremely stressful. As a result my thyroid was completely out of whack, and my stomach hurt almost all the time no matter what I ate or didn’t eat. My doctor put me on thyroid medication, but couldn’t find a proper dosage. It would fluctuate from being incredibly under-active to overactive, and back again. I finally went to an acupuncturist and took up meditating. My thyroid straightened out. My doctor still doesn’t fully trust that I won’t need medication again, even though I haven’t taken anything for the thyroid for the last 15 years. I’m much better at listening to my body now.
I wish you success and wellness.
Well, it sounds like we have some things in common. I know there are a lot of people who have trouble with certain foods, if not quite to the degree that I do, so I’m hoping my little experiments will have some value to others.
I’m trying something right now that I’ll report on shortly, although so far I don’t know – I’m having a rather bad episode today, so I’ll have to tinker with it some more.
Check back and maybe we can learn something together! Always so happy to see you here!
How very interesting! Especially since one of the (many) things that wake me up at night is itchy skin. Will definitely take your advice on the Paleo diet and see if it at least gets rid of the itching. Like you, I get an increased heart rate when I eat too many fast carbs. I added your FB page to my Page’s favourites, btw
Cool, thanks! I think you’d find that cutting back carbs might help get rid of a LOT of things, particularly the insomnia. I notice a huge difference in my sleep after just one meal that includes carbs or sugars.
Start by eliminating the really simple ones, like white flours and “overt” sugars – soda, candy, etc., and go from there. You might find that you get cravings, but if you can hold out, they dramatically decline after about a week. Dark chocolate in small quantities is a good replacement for other treats – it’s actually healthy.
Here are a couple more links that might be helpful:
http://marksdailyapple.com (great resource for the Primal diet – I mentioned this on your blog, but I’ll add it here as well)
http://www.drgangemi.com/healthtopics/carbintolerance/ (this includes a two week test diet)
http://radiantrecovery.com (a forum for sugar-sensitive people and a 7-step plan)
Let me know how you make out – I’m curious! Always happy to offer any help I can!
Thanks for sharing this! I get hypothermia in my hands and feet very easily during the winter even when wearing warm mittens, socks and boots. I have to keep my feet moving or else they freeze on me and become sore then itchy as they thaw out. I really dislike winter for that reason. Also, I don’t walk very well on ice and dislike falling on the ice. In the summer I get itchy as well and look like a have a rash all the time if it’s hot and humid. The higher the humidity the worse it gets. My asthma gets worse in the summer too if it’s over 40-60% humidity. Which it usually is.
As for the food intolerance, I can’t eat very much carb stuff like bread and pasta because it makes me bloated and I have stomach pain. So I limit the serving sizes I have and that helps in my case. I still eat whole grain bread and pasta, etc but it does give me some G.I. issues. Too much sugar seems to give me that foggy headed feeling the next day so I try and avoid eating a lot of sugary things. But that’s hard b/c I quite enjoy the sugary stuff
Carbonated beverages and spicy foods also give me major stomach pain-especially if I’m foolish enough to have them together! Then there’s lactose which I tolerate in very limited amounts, otherwise I get lots of G.I. issues.
I seem to be constantly plagued with some kind of G.I. issue but as a vegetarian I’m not willing to cut back on my primary sources of nutrition like soy and wheat and veggies. It’s too important for me to be vegetarian and my G.I. symptoms are only the embarrassing sort-not severe. So I put up with the bloating and try increasing my water and fiber intake.
Other people’s energy, crowds, loud noises and bright lights all bother me too. It drains me if I am around people all day without frequent breaks to re-charge. Other people seem to be able to interact successfully with people, me, I’m drained energetically and emotionally. The more insipid or superficial the interactions the worse I end up feeling. I’m less able to keep other people’s feelings and energy from seeping into me, except for when I shut down or switch into my intellectual mode where feelings don’t reach me. However, it’s not pleasant to be in that mode because I feel rather robotic.
I’ll be interested to see what works for you in your experimental diet.
Well, unfortunately it does sound like you’re the sugar-sensitive type as well. And all forms of carbs are essentially sugar. The diet I’m on is mostly ketogenic, meaning that in the absence of carb-fueled glucose, my body runs on fat ketones instead. This is a more steady and slow-burning form of energy, so it tends to eliminate the fogginess and G.I. symptoms that a carby diet can cause. I feel like an entirely different person on this plan, no exaggeration.
Equally unfortunate is that soy is a phytoestrogen, so it can really wreak havoc on your thyroid. And the serotonin roller-coaster of the carb diet has a huge effect on emotional stability, at least for me. I get depressed pretty quickly if I eat carbs more than very occasionally, and the connection between the two is really clear – when it does happen now, I just tell myself “well, those are sugar feelings,” and try to ignore them.
I really wish I could still be vegan, or even vegetarian, but my body just utterly refuses to do it. I finally had to make the choice between not eating meat and being so sick I was functionally useless, or having enough energy to fulfill my spiritual path in a different way. I will have to leave the vegetarianism to those whose bodies can handle it.
If you think it’s worth it, perhaps you should try going just gluten-free for a couple of weeks and see what it does for your G.I. issues. So many people are gluten sensitive without being aware of it, and just that one change can have a huge impact. There are a lot of alternatives available these days for wheat, so it’s not nearly as hard to do as it used to be.
Oh, as an addendum, I coincidentally just got this article from Women to Women in my email, which offers a good explanation of some of these issues, as well as tips to help overcome them. No need to buy their supplements if you don’t want to, but the info is helpful:
http://www.womentowomen.com/insulinresistance/sugarcravings.aspx?