Don't Be So Sensitive! Part 4
Past blog posts about the Everlywell project: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
In the last blog entry, I updated everyone on how the first two weeks of my 30-day elimination diet of cow's milk, coffee, and lamb went, initiated by my Everlywell food sensitivity results.
Week 3: Monday, 4/25 - Sunday, 5/1
After a few days of playing around with the MUD/WTR, it became my primary morning source of caffeine. I'd been experimenting with different ratios of almond milk to water, and I think I finally hit on the best option for me (2/3 cup almond milk with 1/3 cup hot water plus one Tablespoon of the mix and a half teaspoon of raw sugar, in case you're wondering). By doing this, I'm getting around 50 calories first thing in the morning, which seems to be enough to keep me from becoming barfy before my preferred 8am breakfast; since there's a full cup of hot liquid going into the mix, it also dissolves my Benefiber pretty well, which is a plus. Unlike with my Trader Joe's chai mix (which takes just water), I prefer having almond milk and water with the MUD/WTR, which makes it a bit more difficult for travel purposes; I don't have an air travel trip scheduled until early June, so if I'm still using it then, I might have to see if it's worth it to try to get to grocery stores while in touristy areas to procure the almond milk versus researching what options local coffee shops or Starbucks might have (will Starbucks sell you just almond milk? I might have to find that out...).
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Eating out this week was once again easier than I anticipated - I think that will end up being one of my biggest takeaway from this experience, which was a very nice surprise. Our normal midweek dining experience was delivery pizza from local spot Federal Pizza (they're not my absolute favorite local bougie pizza chain, but I needed to use a GrubHub credit); we hadn't eaten pizza since my elimination diet began, as mozzarella cheese is also a mild-level trigger for me, but everything was fine (no unfortunate side effects). I did learn that just because "feta cheese" is listed on the ingredients of the pizza, that doesn't mean it's covered in feta instead of standard mozzarella - this one came with both cheeses on top (it was delicious, to be fair).
For our larger, weekend "eat out" experience, we headed to a favorite local haunt, Short Leash Hotdogs + Rollover Doughnuts (we've already taken several of you readers there, and the owners have started to recognize us - I think we might be "regulars!"). Saturday, 4/30, was their annual Adult Pinewood Derby Classic (well, annual once again, after taking a few years off for a global pandemic, etc), and both Chris and his good buddy Jake signed up and made cars to race. Since Short Leash is a small local spot, I didn't expect them to have an online allergen menu, and they did not; however, they did have a spot on their website to submit questions, so I figured why not and sent off a request, asking specifically about the dairy content in the na'an bread they use as the main bun for their wieners. Within just a few hours, Kat (one of the owners, I believe) emailed me back, letting me know that while the na'an did include dairy, the pretzel bun was dairy-free, and it should work for me. On the day of, I was able to modify my order without issue, and I very much enjoyed the Sunny:
Symptom-wise, I haven't suffered through a migraine since I started my elimination diet, and that seems to be my biggest change. Even if that's the only thing that comes out of trying this, for me, that makes it 100% worth it. I know some folks have experienced migraines all their lives, but mine started to come on just in my late 20s/early 30s. At first, they seemed linked to my cycle, as I'd only really have them during my period week.
** Sidebar time, because this is my blog and because this is a funny story. When I worked in the UoPX building at our Fountainhead location, there was a gym in the next building over, and we got great rates (it may have even been free). I worked out there a few times a week, but I never missed yoga class with Sunnie, an instructor in her mid to late 40s sporting a New Jersey accent so thick, she sounded like she was fishmongering down on the docks. She was an incredible teacher and made the class really enjoyable, but she'd always caution us (most of whom likely identified as female) against certain poses while we were on our "moon cycle." One day, while we were attempting Plow Pose, I just couldn't get my legs far enough up to move them over my head, and she wandered by; "oh, you must be on your moon cycle," she offered. I was most certainly not on my moon cycle that day, but it was a far better excuse than my almost total lack of flexibility, so I just agreed. Moon cycle, indeed. Sidebar over! **
Anywhoo, now that I'm here in my early 40s, I think the migraines were tied less to a specific time of the month and were more aligned with all of the unhealthy foods I was eating during that week of my cycle. For example, the day before I received my Everlywell results, I went out on a girls' evening with several good friends and had all sorts of delicious goodies: fried ravioli, bruschetta, pizza, red velvet cake, etc. Although I'd had two adult bevvies, they were early in the night, and I went to bed completely sober. The next morning, I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a truck, and I'm now pretty convinced that cow's milk in the appetizers, main, and dessert may have been the culprit. By comparison, after sitting in the heat at Short Leash for a few hours on 4/30 and having a hot dog, fried pickles, and three beers (what? I wasn't driving), I again went to bed sober and woke up feeling in perfectly fine shape to tackle a few hours of yardwork (and in early May in Phoenix, that's pretty good shape). Truly, the difference has been impressive.
Week 4: Monday, 5/2 - Sunday, 5/8
Menu planning and eating at home stayed pretty much the same in Week 4; with the vegan butter (both in sticks and spreadable form) and almond milk I'd picked up at Sprouts at the beginning of this project, I was able to still have my MUD/WTR each morning and make easy substitutions as needed in our normal set of recipes (or pick those without dairy components, at all).
On Tuesday afternoon, I had a visit with my primary care doc; while I originally made the appointment for some ankle pain (yes, of course it's the same ankle I broke last October), I took the opportunity to quiz her on all sorts of things, including longer term maintenance for my acid reflux (I'm trying out aloe juice for that, btw). More salient for the purposes of this project, though, I also asked her about my calcium intake, and how I should ensure I'm getting enough. I figured with nixing cow's milk from my diet, and being an aging (rapidly, it feels like) woman who often falls down and hurts herself, ensuring I get enough calcium to have strong bones was an important thing to keep in mind. She suggested tracking my intake for a few days and seeing where I was; if I was pretty close to the 1200mg recommended for women each day, then I was probably fine, but if I fell too short, I could look into a supplement (too much calcium can lead to kidney stones, so you don't want to take too much, either). In doing some calculations, I found out that my almond milk actually contains more calcium than regular cow's milk; that added to the women's multivitamin I already take each day brings me to around 2/3 of my recommended daily goal. The rest is normally made up of whatever cheese (cow's milk or not) I eat each day (spinach and kale have a lot, too, and those are often in my diet). I went ahead and ordered a calcium supplement from Bezos and Co, and each pill is just 250mg; thus, if I have a low-cheese/spinach day, I can add in one or two pills as needed and bring my numbers to where they need to be.
Wednesday was a big day, eating out-wise. We had lunch for my department at work - our first in-person gathering since before COVID - at the Farm at South Mountain. Since it was a big group, I knew this would be an event with a spread of food, rather than a situation where I could order a lunch option on my own. I emailed our Director a week or so ahead of time to ask if she had a menu or something of that nature, and she was able to provide me with the catering package information, as well as the options she chose (the turkey sandwich, the chicken salad sandwich, the veggie sandwich, the BLT, and a salad as well). A quick email to the folks at the Farm scored me the knowledge that the only bread of theirs made with dairy was their standard white; I was able to take all of this info and use it to figure out what might be risky (the chicken salad on the baguette, as well as the veggie sandwich and BLT, both on country bread) and what would likely be okay (the turkey on multigrain and the salads).
That afternoon, I also scored some quality time with my friend Ashleigh when we took in the Happy Hour options at Farish House, a downtown wine bar that features French-ish cuisine. Thankfully, we were there early before the rush began, so I didn't feel bad asking the server to spend a bit more time than normal with us to help me find some non-cow's milk options. We ended up splitting the dates and the "foutine," roasted fingerling potatoes covered in duck fat gravy and blue cheese. Both options were outstanding!
Our big dinner out this week was at FnB in old town Scottsdale, and it was fantastic - like many other places, the waitstaff there was extremely patient with all of my questions, and they were happy to split our order as needed, ensuring toppings and dressings were on the side, just in case.
I do have to admit to experiencing a migraine this week, which feels rather like poetic justice after writing about them going away in the Week 3 notes, above. On Thursday night, Chris and I decided to celebrate Cinco de Mayo by making (mediocre) homemade margaritas and ordering from our local burrito place, Joyride Taco House. I just wanted my absolute favorite burrito (the green chili chicken option) after not having it for four plus weeks, and while I read through the menu description, I didn't really care if it might have traces of butter or milk in the mix (it had cheese, for sure, but I couldn't completely tell about other cow's milk products). I woke up the next morning with a migraine that lasted through all of Friday and Saturday, albeit one that was manageable enough that I could still work, hike, and enjoy the weekend. Thinking back on the situation, I believe the migraine may have come on more from drinking the two margs; other than the ounce of lime juice in each one, they're nothing but alcohol, and starting them at 5pm on a Thursday probably didn't leave enough time in the day to fully rehydrate and recover before bed. I did eat the other half of the burrito a few days later (once the migraine finally left), and I felt fine the next day.
Four weeks in, and I'm honestly learned so much - another key takeaway for me during this experience has been that folks, whether they're at restaurants or in my own circle (coworkers, friends, and Chris) seem to generally be extremely happy to share information and figure out how to finagle things in a way that works for you. I've had such quick responses to the random emails I've sent that I've honestly been pretty shocked, and several servers, even at chain restaurants, have happily jogged to the kitchen to ask how things are prepared ("are the onions sauteed in oil or butter" is a common question right now), relaying the information back to me (don't worry - we've always tipped very well in these situations to thank them for their assistance). I get that part of this may be potentially motivated by reducing risk to the restaurant (if they ensure they don't trigger a reaction for me, they don't have to worry as much about liability, right?), but more than this, it seems to be just people acting with kindness and wanting to make their guests happy. It's nice you can still find that in so many places, even today.
On the next blog, I finish up my initial 30-day elimination diet and try reintroducing cow's milk to see what happens. Are you on the edge of your seat?!?!?!
PS - As I mentioned in the prior posts about this, if you want to try Everlywell out on your own, here's my referral link. You get a 15% discount and I get an Amazon gift card. Win, win!
San Antonio!!!
ReplyDeleteYou got it, ma’am!
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