My Gastronomic (Mis) Adventures

Summary of this post
I talk about the many diets that I tried on my path to wellness, particularly after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease in 1999, Henoch Schonlein Purpura (HSP). Falling sick changed a lot of what I eat. I believed food could be my medicine and it was possible certain foods also contributed to my illness. Over fourteen years I have tried these diets/therapies: elimination diet, food combining, vegetarian, vegan, raw vegan, Gerson Cancer Therapy, raw meat, Atkins. What worked and what didn't? Read on.


Before the HSP


Food combining (1992)
Why: I suffered borderline health issues: chronic eczema, hives and indigestion that kept me up at night. Eating protein and carbohydrates separately was supposed to aid digestion (more info on food combining).
How I felt: This diet helped even though there really isn't much supporting hard evidence.


Elimination diet (1992 - 1993)
Why: I suspected problem foods I had trouble digesting. I kept a detailed food journal and ate only rice, sweet potatoes and chicken before adding on other foods one by one and observing how I felt.
How I felt: I didn't notice any difference in my digestion or my skin problems nor gluten intolerance symptoms, which developed later on.
Helpful resource: Years later, in 2006, I learnt a better way of effectively implementing the elimination diet through Food Allergies and Food Intolerance: The Complete Guide to Their Identification and Treatment by Jonathan Brostoff (MD).


Undergrad student diet (1994 - 1998)
Why: With limited finances, I ate simple home-cooked rice, fish, meat and vegetable meals.
How I felt: I was very sleepy after meals, but thought it was normal. Student life was very stressful and I made the best of things.


Borneo Raleigh Expedition diet (1998)
Why: Well, I didn't intentionally embark on this diet of tinned food, instant noodles, carbs and anti-malarial pills washed down with heavily chlorinated water. It was a 3 month scientific jungle expedition (Prince William was on one of those expeditions too!).
How I felt: I had the time of my life, but also got sicker. My skin erupted with itchy sores.


Juice and (mostly) vegetarian diet (1999)
Why: Juice ExtractorI read about the benefits of juicing and reasoned that consuming exogenous enzymes instead of depleting my endogenous enzymes sounded pretty good. I bought a Green Star . I went on juice fasts, ate organic produce and salads.
How I felt: Great. My digestion improved but my arms and legs remained covered with sores that itched all the time.
Helpful resources: I've used the Green Star for 8 years and I own two. It is the best out there for producing high-quality life-giving vegetable and/or fruit juices. Click here to compare Green Star prices. Cherie Calbom's 'Juicing for Life: A Guide to the Benefits of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Juicing' is an excellent book to get you started. Compare prices for 'Juicing for Life' (Used paperbacks, 63 cents on Amazon). Or read a brief juicing intro here.




After the HSP diagnosis


Raw vegan diet (2000 - 2001)
Why: Based on this living food article, raw vegetables and fruit in salads and juices, plus sprouted grains, would put me back on the path to perfect health.
How I felt: I was floating on air - light-headed almost - but I felt hungry all the time and lost weight (90 lbs on a 5'6" frame). I got no better.


Gerson Cancer Therapy (2002)
Why: I didn't have cancer but I thought it might help since it had healed terminally ill cancer patients, including a friend of mine. I continued a semi-raw vegan diet, but added that potassium broth, which was cooked. I also did daily coffee enemas (Here's an okay book you can pick up at Amazon: "How To Give or Get a Coffee Enema: Coffee Enemas - Recipes, Tips and Techniques") to stimulate my bile gland to detoxify (toxins to be eliminated via kidneys, bowel and skin).
How I felt: I was real high from all that caffeine! I didn't get better. In fact I had to stop the enemas during my frequent relapses because the water absorbed through my colon made me swollen (edema) in my state of hypoalbuminuria (resulting from prolonged proteinuria). I realise now that this therapy is probably not good for adrenal fatigue or adrenal suppressed people like me.


Juicing, 60% raw, omnivorous diet (2003 - mid 2004)
Why: I was tired of being hungry all the time! I added cooked carbohydrates to my diet, and later fish, chicken and eggs. I mixed and matched different food groups and continued reading and thinking and observing how I felt after eating.
How I felt: Satisfied, but tired after meals. Indigestion went away and the skin flareups happened only during relapses, which unfortunately were frequent. I wasn't making any progress weaning off the steroids. At that time I was on Cyclosporin (100 mg bd, a potent steroid-sparing immune suppressant usually prescribed to organ transplant patients) and Prednisone (15 mg bd = 15 mg daily).


Raw milk and olive oil, steroid switch (2004)
Why: I also started dousing my salads with organic cold-pressed olive oil (read benefits summary) and drinking raw cow's milk after reading about raw milk benefits. I switched over to Hydrocortisone (HCT, 60 mg bd), which I read had fewer side effects than Prednisone, and I had stopped taking Cyclosporin because I didn't think it helped.
How I felt: I felt pretty good but wasn't able to go below 40 mg bd without relapsing. I relapsed every time I got a sore throat or flu. One memorable relapse was triggered by exposure to cement dust.


80% raw organic food diet (2004 - 2005)
Why: I had access to great organic foods because I moved to the United States to pursue my PhD in Entomology (check out my other related blogs:Bloodkin and Antomologist). I added organic meats and carbohydrates. I stopped the coffee enemas because I didn't feel I benefited from them.
How I felt: I relapsed a couple of times despite having a Sharper Image ionic air purifier in my one-room apartment, which smelled of cooking fumes and cigarette smoke because of the poor ventilation system. The ionic air purifier is highly efficient in eliminating odors and settling (by attracting) dust and other airborne particles and I think it's a good product, just not for a person in my condition. Visit SharperImage.com or Compare prices for the Ionic Breeze Quadra


Raw meat (Primal or Paleolithic) diet (2005 - 2006)
Why: I was getting desperate. No success weaning off steroids for five years. I stumbled across the Primal Diet in my web searches and stuck to it for a year. It was a horrifying on-the-fringes-of-society anti-social diet where I would eat about 2 pounds of free-range raw bison or deer meat and organs, and raw eggs washed down with raw milk, raw celery juice a day. By this time I had moved into a cozy country home with hardwood floors so no carpet to breed dust mites or off-gas fumes. However, a strong cement smell permeated the entire house possibly from the cement factory behind the house.
How I felt: Fantastic. I was never hungry, my digestive problems were a thing of the past and I had boundless energy. I managed to reduce my dose to 30 mg bd HCT! Unfortunately it was difficult to stick with because it was erm... 'anti-social'. I continued to relapse, probably because I was always at the lowest 'maintenance' dose (that prevents relapse) so any additional stress would tip the balance and send me into relapse. I became sensitive to chemical fragrances in household and body care products and other petrochemicals. I got nauseous and disoriented.
Helpful resource: Installing the NQ Clarifier Air Purifier in the house dramatically improved its air quality to 'safe room' type standards. I breathed easier and my brain fog cleared. It was boxy and industrial-looking but was value for money. The machine ran 24/7 and cost pennies a day. You may also be curious or desperate enough to pick up Aajonus Vanderplanitz's mind-blowing We Want to Live: The Primal Diet (2005 Expanded Edition)


Raw meat diet plus some cooked food (2006)
Why: I was cold! In the winter I started cooking hearty warming soups. I also ate a little bread and rice.
How I felt: Extreme fatigue the morning after consuming cooked food. Whole wheat bread gave me tummy and bowel pain. After conducting a mini elimination diet with the carbohydrate-based foods, my boyfriend and I deduced that wheat products were the culprit, not cooked food. Unfortunately, I developed more chemical sensitivities (printer toner, photocopy machines, magazines, newsprint) in addition to existing ones (gas, mothballs, formaldehyde in pressed wood and newspapers, perfume and cigarette smoke). The doctor said I probably had MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, read my personal experience with Henoch Schonlein Purpura here ) but didn't know how to treat me. I could not tolerate any dose lower than 30 mg bd.
Helpful resource: As mentioned previously, "Food Allergies and Food Intolerance" by Jonathan Brostoff (MD) was essential in helping me self-diagnose gluten intolerance through the elimination diet. Check out the book on Amazon


50% raw meat plus cooked food diet (2006 - 2007)
Why: The (anti-social) 100% Primal diet was too difficult to follow. I still drank green juices and ate fruit. I focused on reducing my environmental pollutant overhead so my body could devote its energy to healing (and reducing the steroids) instead of detoxifying its daily chemical load. I seldom ate wheat products but when I did, I took these Enzymedica Glutenease Capsules (costs less than 50 cents per 'antidote' capsule) that improved my digestive ability.
How I felt: No more pain or discomfort from the occasional wheat product meal, but tiredness next morning if I ate too much. My MCS had progressed to where I could hardly venture out to shopping malls without feeling ill from the perfumes, air fresheners and other odors. It seemed I was up against a brick wall and my body, weakened with every relapse, was deteriorating faster than it could heal.


Atkins-type high protein diet, post-PhD, Malaysia (end 2007 - now)
Why: I continued to comb medical journals and text books to better understand adrenal gland functioning and trolled web resources to get ideas on how to wean off steroids. My current diet and lifestyle is supported by good science, some less reliable internet information, common sense and discipline. From Jun-Oct 2007, during which I relapsed frequently on 30 mg bd HCT, I put pieces of the puzzle together and gradually worked out a solid tapering regimen and diet (details in next post!). I started this diet Oct 2007.
How I felt: In 3 months I had successfully reduced my dose to 12.5 mg bd HCT! I was over the moon! Bear in mind, for 8 years I had never gone below 30 mg. My MCS seems to have lessened in severity now as well. The diet and lifestyle regimen has been a huge success so far. (Update 25 July 2012: I'm on a flexible low carb diet now, and steroid-free!).

Organic free range poached chicken and wild rocket salad dressed with raw apple cider vinegar, raw honey, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt. Recipe at Gracie Cooks!

xo Gracie