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

[eirl.livejournal.com]

What is the reason for needing to avoid tumeric, cumin, and coriander? I'm sensitive to the red pepper family (though I don't have any reason to think tomatoes bother me). I've noticed that these spices also bother me, but I haven't been able to pin down why. Are they some how related to peppers?

[bookofjude.livejournal.com]

Actually, all have different reasons: I have an allergy to ginger, and turmeric is from the same family (Zingiberacea). I used to be able to get away with turmeric, cardamom, etc, without issue, but I recently developed a sensitivity so I've removed them from my diet for the time being.

Likewise, cumin and coriander are in the same family, and I had developed a sensitivity to cumin, so I decided to avoid all of them for the time being so that it would hopefully go away!

[eirl.livejournal.com]

Wow, thanks! That's really useful to know. Thank you!