My Food Story
Five summers ago, I went on a work trip to Singapore where I ate my way through some of the best food in the world. Chicken rice, roti pratha, mi goreng, chicken satay mmmmmm. My mouth waters just thinking about it. However, when I returned to NY, I suffered from morning bloat on a daily basis for the next three months. After complaining to my mother, she suggested that I try cutting out gluten to see how I'd feel. As a native New Yorker, this was no easy feat. No more hot, crispy bagels, no more cheesy pizza, no more chicken parmigiana. After a few initial stumbles--I ate a burger with bun one night, completely forgetting I wasn't supposed to eat the bun--the experiment seemed to be paying off. I was no longer suffering from morning bloat and pretty much all stomach struggles had disappeared. I couldn't believe how well the gluten free thing had work out.
For the following four years, my digestive system seemed to be running relatively smoothly. My two years in South Korea worked out just fine though reading ingredient labels was certainly a struggle. Then came the big move to Munich, Germany. Knowing I wouldn't be able to consume two big staples of Bavarian life, pretzels and beer, was sad but I was happy to be moving to a place where I would easily find gluten free alternatives. However, my food life took a turn for the worse pretty quickly. Within a few months, I had developed hives on my cheeks and the insides of my forearms that seemed to pop up almost daily. The hives worsened as the dry winter air took a toll on my skin. One particular event stands out in my memory. I was eating homemade Mexican dinner over at a friend's house. Halfway through my gluten free burrito, I felt a burning sensation on the back of my hands. When I looked at them, I noticed that the hives had now spread and had joined forces with a red, burning rash that took weeks to go away.
Having reached a point where I could no longer ignore my skin symptoms, I mentioned them to my endocrinologist--that's right, I also suffer from hypothyroidism after a partial thyroid removal. She referred me to an allergy dermatologist hoping that he would have answers as she apologized that she couldn't offer me any. After an allergy skin test reconfirmed my dust mite allergy, he listened to my list of skin symptoms and suggested that they were food related. He suggested that I cut out dairy and high histamine foods and consider visiting a clinic for food intolerance testing. I have decided not to visit the clinic as he explained that I could do a similar elimination food test on my own.
I have since cut out dairy completely and have seen a huge improvement in the condition of my skin. I no longer get hives of any kind on my arms though still have one or two that pop up on my cheeks. Now that I pretty much have a handle on the dairy situation, I need to focus my energy on this histamine intolerance business. But it's hard. Really hard! It's challenging enough to be gluten and lactose free but to now cut out most fruit, alcohol, shellfish, anything processed, beans, nuts, and leftovers, I don't know what to eat! And eating out sucks! Being an inconvenience was slightly embarrassing before, but now...I don't even know if eating out is worth it anymore. I'm so frustrated and lonely.
For the following four years, my digestive system seemed to be running relatively smoothly. My two years in South Korea worked out just fine though reading ingredient labels was certainly a struggle. Then came the big move to Munich, Germany. Knowing I wouldn't be able to consume two big staples of Bavarian life, pretzels and beer, was sad but I was happy to be moving to a place where I would easily find gluten free alternatives. However, my food life took a turn for the worse pretty quickly. Within a few months, I had developed hives on my cheeks and the insides of my forearms that seemed to pop up almost daily. The hives worsened as the dry winter air took a toll on my skin. One particular event stands out in my memory. I was eating homemade Mexican dinner over at a friend's house. Halfway through my gluten free burrito, I felt a burning sensation on the back of my hands. When I looked at them, I noticed that the hives had now spread and had joined forces with a red, burning rash that took weeks to go away.
Having reached a point where I could no longer ignore my skin symptoms, I mentioned them to my endocrinologist--that's right, I also suffer from hypothyroidism after a partial thyroid removal. She referred me to an allergy dermatologist hoping that he would have answers as she apologized that she couldn't offer me any. After an allergy skin test reconfirmed my dust mite allergy, he listened to my list of skin symptoms and suggested that they were food related. He suggested that I cut out dairy and high histamine foods and consider visiting a clinic for food intolerance testing. I have decided not to visit the clinic as he explained that I could do a similar elimination food test on my own.
I have since cut out dairy completely and have seen a huge improvement in the condition of my skin. I no longer get hives of any kind on my arms though still have one or two that pop up on my cheeks. Now that I pretty much have a handle on the dairy situation, I need to focus my energy on this histamine intolerance business. But it's hard. Really hard! It's challenging enough to be gluten and lactose free but to now cut out most fruit, alcohol, shellfish, anything processed, beans, nuts, and leftovers, I don't know what to eat! And eating out sucks! Being an inconvenience was slightly embarrassing before, but now...I don't even know if eating out is worth it anymore. I'm so frustrated and lonely.
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