Sugar and elimination diet

So we've seen our naturopath twice now. Once for initial consultation, blood work, etc. We were instructed to keep week-long diet journals and report them back to her. We had our follow up to discuss our current eating habits, lab results, and plan of action going forward this week. And it ain't pretty.

Well, it's a great plan, we absolutely LOVE our new doctor, and completely agree with her and think it all makes total sense. But it'll just be a difficult change!

Starting next week, we'll be going sugar-free (and by sugar, I mean refined/processed sugar, so fruits and very small amounts of honey and maple syrup are ok). Corey and I originally planned to do a paleo diet, but she wants us to start off with this for now. She's not really pro any one specific diet. Her motto is that there is not one single diet that works for every person or one single diet that works for a person through their entire life. Adjustments need to be made accordingly. And I really like her view on that. Three weeks after we go sugar-free, she wants us to follow up with her.

In addition to this no sugar diet, I will have to do an elimination diet. She wants me to start out with just the no sugar thing for a good 3-4 weeks and then move on to the elimination diet. The reason for this is that I have hypothyroidism, according to my lab results (which I've suspected for a few months now). I have to go back for more labs to check for Hashimoto's disease now (this is an auto-immune disease that can cause hypothyroidism). And yes, I'm positive it's HYPOthyroid, not hyper. You'd think I would be hyper if you looked at me because I've always struggled with being underweight. Apparently I just get the opposite reaction in my metabolism from most people with hypothyroidism.

So all that to say, she said Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism can actually be caused/triggered by a food allergy or intolerance. And with the amount of headaches, unexplained rashes/hives, chronic sinus/nasal congestion, and sometimes random nausea I get, she is certain I have a food intolerance of some sort to one or more foods. She suspects wheat and eggs, but only an elimination diet will tell me for sure. And this, my friends, is going to be a serious challenge. Basically, you have to cut out all possible allergens (which includes wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, citrus fruits, nightshades, and there are a few more I'm forgetting) for 3-4 weeks, and then reintroduce them one by one back into your diet...waiting 3 or 4 days between to see if you have a reaction (so one day you'd eat a bunch of eggs and then go back to your "clean" diet for 3 days while waiting for a reaction...then do this for each allergen). It takes about 2 months total to go through it all.

Am I excited about this? Nope. Not in the least. But I'm so glad I followed my instinct and held off on seeing my regular doc for a possible thyroid issue when our ND believes she can help me get it under control with a diet change rather than drugs. Most of the thyroid medications are not safe to take while breastfeeding, and that is the reason I hesitated to see a regular doctor. I'm not willing to give up nursing my baby to feel better.

What I am looking forward to is feeling better, having more energy, less headaches, and hopefully Charlotte's eczema and other issues will also be taken care of!

I'll update soon to let you know how the no-sugar thing is going for us...and maybe I'll post some yummy recipes. That's it for now though...off to bed!

PS. If you have Netflix, check out two documentaries. I promise you won't regret it: Hungry for Change and Food Matters.

Goodnight!