Nah, cream cheese is fine--but you have to eat the one from the block and not from the tub because the tub one has preservatives, but the block one doesn't for some reason. Unless you are avoiding dairy as well, like me, in which case get the bi-carb ready :)
Grunland cheese spread (in little foil wheels). No preservatives or "bad" numbers I recognise on the ingredients, so I wasn't being entirely reckless, but I'm pretty sure the amine load will be the issue.
Some people drink bottles of vodka knowing that it's bad for them. I'm supposed to be doing challenges now, so I'm letting myself off the leash a bit.
Cream cheese is on the low amine list--though an entire wheel might not be :) so is ricotta and cottage cheese--if you can find any without additives, which I haven't yet. But I am finding dairy problematic at the moment anyway, so it is all off for me anyway atm.
BTW I'm having surprising difficulty tracking down plain carob. I went through two packets of buds from my local supermarket, so they immediately discontinued the line and didn't replace it. I've been to supermarkets, chemists and health shops, and have only found stupidly expensive blocks at $6.70 for 100g!
Lots of dairy-free chocolate about, but that seems to have all the same chemicals that cause the problems. I bowed to cheese pressure this afternoon after looking all over 5 different places for carob.
That's about what I pay for organic 85%-cocoa chocolate (made by Green&Black). It's pretty filling, so one block usually lasts about a week. It tastes awesome though!
I have a really nice organic food shop that has carob buttons for $9.95 a kilo--I think you were wrong earlier when you said you can't binge on carob :) I am having huge trouble finding dairy free carob though. Lots of dairy free chocolate, but no carob. I do have carob powder though--I was thinking of trying to make me some kind of carob chocolate crackles as a (poor) substitute.
I haven't identified the baddies as yet, but I am a step closer now in that I am 100% convinced that I am reacting to *something* I just haven't been able to do a controlled enough trial yet to work out exactly what that something is. I have a horrible suspicion that I am sensitive to *all* of the three, with different symptoms for each. I am pretty sure it is salycilates causing the restless legs (and arms) and that seems to be at a pretty low dose, but I need to 'get clean' again and do a very tightly controlled trial (involving me planning out exactly what I am going to eat on the trial before hand--because once I start and feel like crap I can't be trusted). I haven't actually been well again since I started that first trial, so I am going to need to go cold turkey again for a month or so, I really get sucked into the 'a tiny bit won't hurt you' and the 'you already feel like crap now so you may as well eat something you enjoy cause what is the difference' traps. But at the moment I seem to have an inhumanly low tolerance to these things so a little bit is hurting me quite a lot.
I'm in a similar place, and have had reactions to all three groups. I find it's a very slippery slope if I start to be bad. I can go very quickly from being able to have 0-2 Marie biscuits to not being able to stop after a dozen, and then the next time half a pack...
I find a couple of celery sticks seem to help clear things up a bit. Clears the palette and seems to have an anti-inflammatory and tummy-settling effect. And there's the dose of righteousness that goes with every stick :-)
I had a failed experiment on the weekend - I tried a Radox bath full of mineral salts and herbs and felt distinctly off afterwards - swollen throat, feverish, woozy, *wrong*. I normally use plain bicarb but got lazy (it was waaaay over in the kitchen) and used it as an excuse for a trial. I think someone needs discipline!
If you've got time I'd be interested in hearing more about your progress.
Whats the other food group apart from salicylates and amines? I got the Fed Up book out of the library. Is this the diet that you are following (the Failsafe diet)? I have been avoiding dairy and wheat/gluten, since these were pretty much absent in Thailand. So far I've worked out that dairy=foggy head, bad temper, fatigue. Wheat/gluten= bloated 'mummy tummy'. I'm now interested in giving the full diet a go. It sounds really hard as every single one of the foods I really like is full of amines.
Thanks for the tip off re the book, it is in my local library so I will have a look at that one, too. I have always felt very suspicious of the 'if you really like it, it must be bad for you' theory. Anyways, I will be joining you on the failsafe diet, for as long as I can stand it and for as long as my somewhat feeble self discipline holds out.
Welcome to the beige universe! There's an overwhelming amount of advice out there, but these are a few tips I've found most useful:
* Concentrate, list and buy all the foods you *can* eat. Looking at the forbidden fruit list will drive you crazy.
* Purge or at least partition the fridge, freezer and pantry.
The biggest advantage I've found is that there are so few key ingredients I've usually got all the makings for any given safe recipe.
The attractiveness part I think is specific to glutamates ("flavour") and possibly amines. I believe it from experience - if I fall off the wagon a little bit, it's very difficut to stop. Just like an alcoholic - no such thing as "just one drink".
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stephbg
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no subject
Date: 2008-03-31 09:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-31 09:29 am (UTC)Some people drink bottles of vodka knowing that it's bad for them. I'm supposed to be doing challenges now, so I'm letting myself off the leash a bit.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-31 11:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-31 09:36 am (UTC)Lots of dairy-free chocolate about, but that seems to have all the same chemicals that cause the problems. I bowed to cheese pressure this afternoon after looking all over 5 different places for carob.
How are you doing? Identified the baddies yet?
no subject
Date: 2008-03-31 10:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-31 12:11 pm (UTC)I haven't identified the baddies as yet, but I am a step closer now in that I am 100% convinced that I am reacting to *something* I just haven't been able to do a controlled enough trial yet to work out exactly what that something is. I have a horrible suspicion that I am sensitive to *all* of the three, with different symptoms for each. I am pretty sure it is salycilates causing the restless legs (and arms) and that seems to be at a pretty low dose, but I need to 'get clean' again and do a very tightly controlled trial (involving me planning out exactly what I am going to eat on the trial before hand--because once I start and feel like crap I can't be trusted). I haven't actually been well again since I started that first trial, so I am going to need to go cold turkey again for a month or so, I really get sucked into the 'a tiny bit won't hurt you' and the 'you already feel like crap now so you may as well eat something you enjoy cause what is the difference' traps. But at the moment I seem to have an inhumanly low tolerance to these things so a little bit is hurting me quite a lot.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-31 01:48 pm (UTC)I find a couple of celery sticks seem to help clear things up a bit. Clears the palette and seems to have an anti-inflammatory and tummy-settling effect. And there's the dose of righteousness that goes with every stick :-)
I had a failed experiment on the weekend - I tried a Radox bath full of mineral salts and herbs and felt distinctly off afterwards - swollen throat, feverish, woozy, *wrong*. I normally use plain bicarb but got lazy (it was waaaay over in the kitchen) and used it as an excuse for a trial. I think someone needs discipline!
If you've got time I'd be interested in hearing more about your progress.
*hugs*
no subject
Date: 2008-04-01 12:30 am (UTC)I got the Fed Up book out of the library. Is this the diet that you are following (the Failsafe diet)?
I have been avoiding dairy and wheat/gluten, since these were pretty much absent in Thailand. So far I've worked out that dairy=foggy head, bad temper, fatigue. Wheat/gluten= bloated 'mummy tummy'.
I'm now interested in giving the full diet a go. It sounds really hard as every single one of the foods I really like is full of amines.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-01 12:46 am (UTC)And sadly, foods you like are most likely to be the ones that are bad for you!
no subject
Date: 2008-04-01 10:26 am (UTC)I have always felt very suspicious of the 'if you really like it, it must be bad for you' theory.
Anyways, I will be joining you on the failsafe diet, for as long as I can stand it and for as long as my somewhat feeble self discipline holds out.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-01 10:43 am (UTC)* Concentrate, list and buy all the foods you *can* eat. Looking at the forbidden fruit list will drive you crazy.
* Purge or at least partition the fridge, freezer and pantry.
The biggest advantage I've found is that there are so few key ingredients I've usually got all the makings for any given safe recipe.
The attractiveness part I think is specific to glutamates ("flavour") and possibly amines. I believe it from experience - if I fall off the wagon a little bit, it's very difficut to stop. Just like an alcoholic - no such thing as "just one drink".