Anyone Know What This Is?

[jasonD2]

After I eat i get tired and experience a light-headed feeling with some sinus pressure. Its usually worse with foods im sensitive to. It has nothing to do with gluten since I am gluten-free, but I do notice it the most after eating vinegar, citrus and fermented foods. Ive had this for 3 years already. the very first time i noticed it was when i ate yogurt...then i had it after eating cliantro and i eventually developed the reaction to mostly everything i consume. does anyone know what this might be? i almost feel as if there is a common ingredient to everything i eat that triggers this reaction and it cant be avoided

My biggest concern is that if i continue to always get this reaction when I eat that eventually i will develop an autoimmune disease or something life threatening.

I am 100% certain this all stems from my leaky gut and multiple food allergies brought on by damage to my digestive tract several years ago. I contracted giardia after being on a course of antibiotics for 5 months and was also under a lot of stress from a bad relationship..so all of this together wiped out my insides and i havent been the same since. Since then i have cut out a lot of foods, went on an anti-candida diet and take probiotics and digestive enzymes. I used to be severely constipated and now pretty much go every day but my bowels still do not function properly. My movements are difficult because my stools are hard regardless of what i take to prevent constipation.

Is there anything I can do? I'm already on such a restricted diet and the thought of having to cut out more foods is extremely frightening, yet it might be the only solution to my problem. Im having such difficulty enjoying life now because i am so restricted and being a traveling sales rep makes it even more challenging.

[ShayFL]

Mold would be my guess.

[jasonD2]

dont think its mold...my parents had a mold problem in their basement and it would always make me sneeze and my eyes would tear up. this is something else

[lizard00]

ok. i deleted what i originally said because i read only half the post... apparently. told you i was working on half a brain.

so, did they treat you for giardia? i'm figuring they did. have you tried the scd? or is there some residual to the giardia?

Liz

[AliB]

Hi Jason.

I also would suggest trying the SCD. Although your diet is very limited you may still be ingesting foods that are keeping the 'cycle' going. Many of us have problems with carbs in general, particularly sugar, as our guts lose the ability to produce the necessary enzymes due to the damage, and it may be that that is your problem - gluten is often only a part of the picture. Because the SCD limits foods to those that the body can more easily cope with it gives the gut a chance to heal.

The SCD is not so limiting that you cannot eat. When with clients you could have salad and meat or fish - if you confine your foods to basic then you would be at far less risk of having gluten, too. You could just request fruit for dessert. Although it is low-carb in the essence that you are not eating carb-laden foods, carbs are still provided in the fruit and veg. As long as we have enough protein and fat and a good selection of veg, cooked and raw, we will not lose out on energy - au contraire, I find that carbs drain my energy because my digestion has to work so much harder to digest them.

Basically it takes out anything that is processed or has additives. It confines to unadulterated meat, fish, poultry, fresh veg and fruit and a little honey and nuts.

One of the most important foods on the SCD is yogurt - but not the commercial rubbish. It needs to be 24 hour fermented with mainly Lactobacillus strains and no bifidobacterium. You didn't specify what kind of yogurt you had which caused the problem but it may well have had sugar or other additives with it. That is one advantage of making it yourself - at least you know what is in it!

It might be difficult to make yourself - do you have anyone that could make it for you on a regular basis? I bought a yogurt maker that cultures a liter at a time and have a spare bowl so that I can keep some on the go before the previous lot runs out. That way I am less likely to eat the commercial yogurt.

Many are under the illusion that by dropping gluten they will get better, when in reality that rarely happens. Digestive breakdown is often due to the 'Western' high-carb, high-sugar diet and only by getting 'back to basics' can we stand any chance of getting better. The Western Diet with its high carbs, copious chemical additives along with many medical drugs, feeds rogue bacteria, like Giardia and prevents the growth of the good immune and digestive support bacteria.

There is a Specific Carbohydrate Diet thread in this section if you want more info and support and if you have not looked into this before, check out the 'Breaking the vicious cycle' and 'Pecanbread' sites.

I know how difficult this is - your whole life ends up revolving around food when your digestion is compromised. It is a struggle for me and I don't work, so it must be a nightmare for you most of the time!

[Rachel--24]

After I eat i get tired and experience a light-headed feeling with some sinus pressure. Its usually worse with foods im sensitive to. It has nothing to do with gluten since I am gluten-free, but I do notice it the most after eating vinegar, citrus and fermented foods.

Look at these articles and see if it rings any bells for you.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Usually when someone is seemingly reacting to *everything* they eat.... its most often due to a problem metabolising food chemicals. Basically, the body is having a hard time breaking them down and eliminating them....its not an uncommon thing but people vary in how much they can tolerate.

I'm sensitive to food chemicals. Amines are a big one for me and I do react very strongly to all of the things you listed (any fermented foods, vinegar, citrus, etc). I've strictly avoided those things (and alot more) for a few years now.

Theres alot of info available online as to which foods are high in certain food chemicals (amines, salicylates, glutamates, sulfur). By viewing these lists you may be able to identify whether or not these natural food compounds are causing you to have these symptoms.

In this case its not actually the foods themselves that your body is sensitive to....its actually the chemicals that are naturally occuring in these foods that your body is unable to process. The reactions are dose related.

Reactions to food chemicals are pharmacological and dose dependent rather than immune-system related like allergies. However, the symptoms of food chemical intolerances are often mistaken for allergies, and they can cause autoimmune-like conditions such as eczema, asthma, arthritis and chronic back pain, and have been implicated in a number of other autoimmune disorders including coeliac (celiac) disease, fibromyalgia, and can produce multiple sclerosis-like symptoms. They may even contribute to heart disease.