Care and Feeding of Your Chrysilla
Jan. 1st, 2018 04:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chrysillaSo. I've got some physical/medical issues. (Do they count as medical if nobody knows what's actually going on?)
Will start with the food stuff, b/c that's what people ask about the most. I may add medical stuff later, if people want to see what I've already been tested/diagnosed for before they start giving me more medical advice. (Have you tried... YES.)
And I will continue updating this schpiel as I collect more data (ie, hurt my tummy on more things).
How to feed your Chrysilla
I understand these things are difficult for other people to cater to. In that case, please don't be offended if I eat at my house before going to your party, and I won't be offended if you didn't realize soy sauce has wheat in it, b/c I won't be eating your noms and getting sick. Yay! Everybody wins!
No Wheat/Gluten. Evar.
This is the sneakiest, most annoying problem, because wheat/gluten is used in food as a flavor enhancer, thickening agent, un-clumping agent, moisture adherent, and food coloring, aside from the more obvious aspects. A lot of the time, it's in spice mixtures without them labeling "contains wheat" on the label (declumping), or in other foods under the label "natural flavors". Trace amounts can F#$% me up, like if my french fries were boiled in the same oil vat as something with breading.
Cross contamination is the most annoying. Like the french fries, cooking a non-wheaty thing in a pan, or on a grill, or in a waffle iron that wasn't cleaned after cooking a wheaty thing = I turn into a zombie. If someone puts a wheat cracker in the gf dip you've set out, Ima have to abstain from dip.
Most wheat products are obvious, so here are some less obvious wheat sources:
Soy sauce, asian noodles (most contain wheat), asian dumpling wrappers (same, suxxors), chips (to make seasonings stick), salad dressing, spice blends, gravies, sauces, malt powder (in milkshakes).
Oddly enough, it is not a stomach-owch thing (and I'm negative on all the celiac tests), it seems to be a weird adrenal suppression thing. I eat wheat, and for several days (depending on how much wheat) I'll be in extra zonked zombie mode. When it passes, my adrenals go into overdrive and I start having the physical symptoms of an anxiety attack without the mental/emotional components.
The annoying thing is I'm not sure if this is a wheat problem, or a gluten problem. But since I don't drink, and the only thing I can think of this being a problem with is whiskey (distilled liquor = no gluten, but beer is like so glutened eew), consider for now that its all the same to me. I just won't be making out with any whiskey drinkers. *shrugs* If you like-like me, switch to wine or vodka kthnx. Tho I don't have the energy for that nonsense anyway.
Actual rice gluten doesn't seem to hurt me, I assume, b/c I can eat rice and not turn into a zombie. Except for a bit of a carb crash, but I can live with that.
Oxalates
When oxylic acid, or oxalates, usually hurt people it's when they bind with calcium to make kidney stones. For some reason, they give me stomach problems within the day and icky rashes a few days later. No idea why. My GI believes me after the careful elimination diet I went on, but she's got no answers either. Other Low-oxalate dieters have suggested that super high levels in food may just send my body immediately into detox mode. Or something.
There are many-tiered lists of foods by oxalate levels (L/M/H/VH), so far I seem to only get hurt from the Very High list, and a couple of things on the High list, but its a naturally occurring chemical in plants so it can vary based on brand, breed, farming, preparation, etc. It seems to be a numbers game, but *trace* amounts don't hurt me. If there are almond slivers in my greenbeans, I can just eat around them and be fine.
However, this list is very all-over-the-place. It took a while for me to finally cross reference a few random items that gave me tummy aches, and this is what came up, along with foods I've stopped eating since college because of tummy aches. Wheat is ninja, oxalates are scattershot.
Very High Oxalate Foods that will hurt me:
Tofu/white soy (since college)
Soy flour
Coffee
Tea (not herbal, actual tea)
Sweet potatoes
Quinoa
Amaranth
Blackberries
Dates
Figs
Almonds
Peanuts
Hazlenuts
Pecans
Pistacios
All nuts?
Buckwheat
Beets
Spinach
Chia seeds
Sesame seeds & tahini
Leeks
Okra
Pokeweed (wtf?)
Swiss chard
Elderberry
Gooseberries
Rhubarb
Starfruit
Lentils
Black beans? (still testing)
Canned tomatoes & tomato paste (fresh or jar sauce usually OK)
Tumeric
Blueberries? (still testing, sad)
Steamed carrots (fresh or boiled OK)
Here are some tiered lists for a better look at the Low-ox stuff I can definitely nom, YMMV:
http://www.ohf.org/docs/OxalateContent092003.pdf
http://www.ohf.org/docs/Oxalate2008.pdf
The high-oxalates list make living wheat-free that much more difficult, b/c almond, amaranth, quinoa, soy, and buckwheat flours are all common in gf baking. So just b/c a baking recipe is gf, doesn't mean its Cris-safe.
Dairy
I'm lactose intolerant, but there are pills for that, and they work. Rejoice! However, when I stopped eating wheat and other things that might hurt me, I figured I'd mostly quit dairy as well. Why take extra pills you don't have to? And it seemed to help with my allergies and congestion in the long run, so yay.
For the most part, I can cheat a bit on dairy so long as I have my lactase enzyme pills. Ice cream, butter, fresh cheeses (ricotta, mozzarella), no problem. Oh, but make sure there's no malt powder in milkshakes, and that the chocolate syrup is gf.
However, I have noticed now that some cheeses make me dizzy. Mostly aged cheeses (cheddar, brie), but also fresh chevre/goat cheese, so I'm not sure if this is a casein problem or what. There's tons of extra casein in cow-milk, which becomes more concentrated as cheese ages, but not so much in goats. I will occasionally eat cheese anyway, since it only makes me about as loopy as alchohol used to. Just don't expect me to do yoga or go dancing (or straight home) right after I nom some Kerrygold.
I am allergic to shellfish. Probably the only straightforward part of the tutorial. Normal scratchy-throat-maybe-close-up allergy. Yay?
Booze
I'm straightedge, so I typically don't drink. Except for ritual purposes (champagne toast, pagan circle, assuming its non-wheat booze), and occasionally tasting someone's candy drink, or home made artisanal chocolate liquor or something. The blade is curved, but the edge is straight? I don't like the taste of most alcohol anyway, so more for everybody else.
Mostly OK with other people drinking. So long as things don't get obnoxious, whatevs. But in general, drunk or sober I'm not going to deal with much obnoxiousness. So if you get annoying with me, I will throw you out of a window regardless of your state of inebriation, and "waaah I was drunk" will not get you my forgiveness :-P
Other substances, same thing. A substance-free Chrysilla is the best I can be, but do whatever you want, I just don't want to deal with your crazy. Unless someone snuck you something without your knowledge b/c that's horrible. Then I'll get you home safely.
Things I can eat! Despite having tried the paleo diet :-P
Corn
Salsa
Fresh veg (not on my oxalate list, obv)
Cooked veg
Fresh fruit (same)
CHOCOLATE (esp dark, b/c no dairy)
Desserts baked with non-wheat alcohols in them
Rice
Spices that aren't tumeric
Spicy stuff minus tumeric or *lots* of tomato paste (smidge = OK)
MEAT (I can have an almost blue steak and be fine. Weird, but I'll take it :-P)
Sugar
Most things on the low/med levels of the oxalates list
Snap pea crisps (vry addicted)
Coconut all-the-things
Bean flours (at least if they're in cupcakes, not sure if that's a necessary factor)
Sunflower seeds & "Sunbutter"
Not yet tested
Chickpeas (tho hummus still contains tahini)
Other beans
Oysters/clams (tho may be ick anyway)
Pre-GMO wheat (kinda don't want to test, b/c zombie)
GF soy sauce (fermentation may lower oxalates, also its not like its a whole cup at once?)
Will start with the food stuff, b/c that's what people ask about the most. I may add medical stuff later, if people want to see what I've already been tested/diagnosed for before they start giving me more medical advice. (Have you tried... YES.)
And I will continue updating this schpiel as I collect more data (ie, hurt my tummy on more things).
How to feed your Chrysilla
I understand these things are difficult for other people to cater to. In that case, please don't be offended if I eat at my house before going to your party, and I won't be offended if you didn't realize soy sauce has wheat in it, b/c I won't be eating your noms and getting sick. Yay! Everybody wins!
No Wheat/Gluten. Evar.
This is the sneakiest, most annoying problem, because wheat/gluten is used in food as a flavor enhancer, thickening agent, un-clumping agent, moisture adherent, and food coloring, aside from the more obvious aspects. A lot of the time, it's in spice mixtures without them labeling "contains wheat" on the label (declumping), or in other foods under the label "natural flavors". Trace amounts can F#$% me up, like if my french fries were boiled in the same oil vat as something with breading.
Cross contamination is the most annoying. Like the french fries, cooking a non-wheaty thing in a pan, or on a grill, or in a waffle iron that wasn't cleaned after cooking a wheaty thing = I turn into a zombie. If someone puts a wheat cracker in the gf dip you've set out, Ima have to abstain from dip.
Most wheat products are obvious, so here are some less obvious wheat sources:
Soy sauce, asian noodles (most contain wheat), asian dumpling wrappers (same, suxxors), chips (to make seasonings stick), salad dressing, spice blends, gravies, sauces, malt powder (in milkshakes).
Oddly enough, it is not a stomach-owch thing (and I'm negative on all the celiac tests), it seems to be a weird adrenal suppression thing. I eat wheat, and for several days (depending on how much wheat) I'll be in extra zonked zombie mode. When it passes, my adrenals go into overdrive and I start having the physical symptoms of an anxiety attack without the mental/emotional components.
The annoying thing is I'm not sure if this is a wheat problem, or a gluten problem. But since I don't drink, and the only thing I can think of this being a problem with is whiskey (distilled liquor = no gluten, but beer is like so glutened eew), consider for now that its all the same to me. I just won't be making out with any whiskey drinkers. *shrugs* If you like-like me, switch to wine or vodka kthnx. Tho I don't have the energy for that nonsense anyway.
Actual rice gluten doesn't seem to hurt me, I assume, b/c I can eat rice and not turn into a zombie. Except for a bit of a carb crash, but I can live with that.
Oxalates
When oxylic acid, or oxalates, usually hurt people it's when they bind with calcium to make kidney stones. For some reason, they give me stomach problems within the day and icky rashes a few days later. No idea why. My GI believes me after the careful elimination diet I went on, but she's got no answers either. Other Low-oxalate dieters have suggested that super high levels in food may just send my body immediately into detox mode. Or something.
There are many-tiered lists of foods by oxalate levels (L/M/H/VH), so far I seem to only get hurt from the Very High list, and a couple of things on the High list, but its a naturally occurring chemical in plants so it can vary based on brand, breed, farming, preparation, etc. It seems to be a numbers game, but *trace* amounts don't hurt me. If there are almond slivers in my greenbeans, I can just eat around them and be fine.
However, this list is very all-over-the-place. It took a while for me to finally cross reference a few random items that gave me tummy aches, and this is what came up, along with foods I've stopped eating since college because of tummy aches. Wheat is ninja, oxalates are scattershot.
Very High Oxalate Foods that will hurt me:
Tofu/white soy (since college)
Soy flour
Coffee
Tea (not herbal, actual tea)
Sweet potatoes
Quinoa
Amaranth
Blackberries
Dates
Figs
Almonds
Peanuts
Hazlenuts
Pecans
Pistacios
All nuts?
Buckwheat
Beets
Spinach
Chia seeds
Sesame seeds & tahini
Leeks
Okra
Pokeweed (wtf?)
Swiss chard
Elderberry
Gooseberries
Rhubarb
Starfruit
Lentils
Black beans? (still testing)
Canned tomatoes & tomato paste (fresh or jar sauce usually OK)
Tumeric
Blueberries? (still testing, sad)
Steamed carrots (fresh or boiled OK)
Here are some tiered lists for a better look at the Low-ox stuff I can definitely nom, YMMV:
http://www.ohf.org/docs/OxalateContent092003.pdf
http://www.ohf.org/docs/Oxalate2008.pdf
The high-oxalates list make living wheat-free that much more difficult, b/c almond, amaranth, quinoa, soy, and buckwheat flours are all common in gf baking. So just b/c a baking recipe is gf, doesn't mean its Cris-safe.
Dairy
I'm lactose intolerant, but there are pills for that, and they work. Rejoice! However, when I stopped eating wheat and other things that might hurt me, I figured I'd mostly quit dairy as well. Why take extra pills you don't have to? And it seemed to help with my allergies and congestion in the long run, so yay.
For the most part, I can cheat a bit on dairy so long as I have my lactase enzyme pills. Ice cream, butter, fresh cheeses (ricotta, mozzarella), no problem. Oh, but make sure there's no malt powder in milkshakes, and that the chocolate syrup is gf.
However, I have noticed now that some cheeses make me dizzy. Mostly aged cheeses (cheddar, brie), but also fresh chevre/goat cheese, so I'm not sure if this is a casein problem or what. There's tons of extra casein in cow-milk, which becomes more concentrated as cheese ages, but not so much in goats. I will occasionally eat cheese anyway, since it only makes me about as loopy as alchohol used to. Just don't expect me to do yoga or go dancing (or straight home) right after I nom some Kerrygold.
I am allergic to shellfish. Probably the only straightforward part of the tutorial. Normal scratchy-throat-maybe-close-up allergy. Yay?
Booze
I'm straightedge, so I typically don't drink. Except for ritual purposes (champagne toast, pagan circle, assuming its non-wheat booze), and occasionally tasting someone's candy drink, or home made artisanal chocolate liquor or something. The blade is curved, but the edge is straight? I don't like the taste of most alcohol anyway, so more for everybody else.
Mostly OK with other people drinking. So long as things don't get obnoxious, whatevs. But in general, drunk or sober I'm not going to deal with much obnoxiousness. So if you get annoying with me, I will throw you out of a window regardless of your state of inebriation, and "waaah I was drunk" will not get you my forgiveness :-P
Other substances, same thing. A substance-free Chrysilla is the best I can be, but do whatever you want, I just don't want to deal with your crazy. Unless someone snuck you something without your knowledge b/c that's horrible. Then I'll get you home safely.
Things I can eat! Despite having tried the paleo diet :-P
Corn
Salsa
Fresh veg (not on my oxalate list, obv)
Cooked veg
Fresh fruit (same)
CHOCOLATE (esp dark, b/c no dairy)
Desserts baked with non-wheat alcohols in them
Rice
Spices that aren't tumeric
Spicy stuff minus tumeric or *lots* of tomato paste (smidge = OK)
MEAT (I can have an almost blue steak and be fine. Weird, but I'll take it :-P)
Sugar
Most things on the low/med levels of the oxalates list
Snap pea crisps (vry addicted)
Coconut all-the-things
Bean flours (at least if they're in cupcakes, not sure if that's a necessary factor)
Sunflower seeds & "Sunbutter"
Not yet tested
Chickpeas (tho hummus still contains tahini)
Other beans
Oysters/clams (tho may be ick anyway)
Pre-GMO wheat (kinda don't want to test, b/c zombie)
GF soy sauce (fermentation may lower oxalates, also its not like its a whole cup at once?)