Dietary Restrictions++

[rax]

After some experimentation, I'm 99% sure I have a sensitivity to nightshades and should mostly not be eating them. I'm still working on figuring out if I can have small amounts of them, and whether I have a broad sensitivity or a more narrow one. (Tomatoes and bell peppers are almost definitely no; eggplant and potato are less clear.) For now I'm avoiding all of them, although in another week or two I'm going to add back hot pepper and see if I can still eat spicy things. (God, I hope so.) People have offered their condolences but all I can do is laugh; every time I think about it I am so relieved about two things:

• It wasn't gluten.
• It wasn't soy.

Gluten-free and soy-free vegan are doable, but very very hard. Nightshade-free vegan is just annoying, especially as it's a sensitivity (nasty digestive effects) and not an allergy (anaphylactic shock) and so if I screw up it's not DEATH, just bleaugh. Unfortunately I think I may have crossed that dark threshhold into "Seriously, don't bother trying to bring me to a restaurant." Luckily I don't much care, as I still haven't eaten a meal at a restaurant in town since moving to Bloomington, and mostly because I've enjoyed making my own food. (If, say, Mary's were here, I would have gone a couple of times...)

So, uh, please don't slip tomatoes into my food, and this shouldn't be a problem. :) If I develop something else on top of this, then we could be in danger territory. But for now, hooray! Still tons of things I can eat.

Comments

[fjm.livejournal.com]

Good to hear. And yes, while I very happily do vegan when visiting vegan friends, vegan restaurants are hopeless for me, and I can't manage more than a week at Homs without getting very hungry.

[fjm.livejournal.com]

A week at home

Sorry. iPhone likes to predict my spelling.

[rax.livejournal.com]

I've found vegan and gluten-free food in the weirdest places --- Pittsburgh! But I wouldn't want to live off of it if I could avoid it. At this point if I developed a gluten intolerance I would probably stay vegan, but I would hardly expect anyone else to do it. :)

[fjm.livejournal.com]

I know only one person who stayed vegan after diagnosis and she never travels more than a lunch away from home. However, since oats were cleared I've found it easier, and more vegan places are using tamari instead of soy sauce.