Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Backache

It arrived at the weekend. Actually the real problem is with the digestive system but I don't like to talk about that. That may be why I have not posted much in the last few weeks.

The rule of thumb is that raw food hits the mouth and throat and you can tell almost instantly if there is a problem. Big offenders are onions and pepper and they tend to crop up in plain English cooking, such as shepherd or cottage pies, or in coleslaw. Somebody served me a delicious shepherd's pie the other day, no pepper, but stuffed with onions and as a result my throat seized up and my nose ran - but it lasted no more than a few hours.

My skin is generally fine, clear as a bell. The Splodge has stayed away, even in spite of the occasional indulgence with Stilton and other blue cheeses. And there have been no rashes. That's because essentially I stick to a low-salicylate diet and mostly to a zero salicylate diet.

But if the food is processed or highly prepared it slips past the throat into the digestive system. That's happening all the time. I may take a pill if I'm having somebody else's food and I may think I get away with it. But the truth is that in spite of keeping pretty fit I've got serious inflammation around the abdomen - I'm pussy-footing around descriptions - and all that goes with it.

Well that caught up with me at the weekend when a muscle at the back of the abdomen pulled. It's taking a while to heal. There were all sorts of reasons but you cannot kid me that the state of my digestive system is not part of it

RAS

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey there, I feel your pain: I was on a low salicylate and amine diet for 5 years. It was hell. As I discovered, it's a catch 22: the more you manage to avoid those foods in the 'high'list, the more sensitive you become.

Reading your blog I've noticed two things: some of the things your doctor has told you are safe are in fact very high in sals (e.g. pineapple). You can find accurate lists of food chemicals in foods based on scientific testing in the cookbook published by the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Australia (can't recall the name).

Second thing: have you been checked for an autoimmune disorder? The reason I ask is that your rash sounds like a lupus rash. If that is the case, sun exposure might be making it worse in the long term. Presdisposition to autoimmune disorders can be determined through a blood test for anti-nuclear antibodies. That was what turned out to be causing my severe food intolerance and I'm now properly medicated and, importantly, eating more freely. Your condition might be caused by something completely different. Whatever the case, don't lose hope of getting off a restricted diet, it took me five years but I did manage to find out what was causing my allergies.

RAS said...

Hi anonymous. Thanks for these thoughts. I don't think I ever thought pineapples was low in salicylate. So far as lupus goes I know somebody with lupus and it's far worse than I have. Indeed my skin is still a lot better than it was. However I do think there may be a spectrum of these disorders and wish doctors thought more like that