Pomegranate and grape-seed conditioner

A few months ago when I was searching for shampoos I picked up a pomegranate and grape-seed conditioner made by the Balsam label. When I brought it home I left it on a table and it disappeared.

The other day my very greasy Derma conditioner ran out and I scoured around desperately for a substitute. Behold, there was the pomegranate conditioner sitting in a basket, untouched. I wasn't sure because my experience of pomegranates has been mixed. My suspicion is that the juice is low-salicylate but it's often difficult to eat the fruit and avoid the pulp, which is likely to be high-salicylate. Similarly with grape seeds. Green grapes seem pretty harmless but what about the seeds? So it might all depend whether the pomegranate is pressed and strained or crushed.

I'm pleased to report the conditioner seems to work well. It may be because my tolerance level is still quite high, although not as high as it was over Christmas. My other half has decided to keep testing me and last night she fed me chicken pieces that seemed to be laced in garlic. My skin had flared up nicely by the time I went to bed but I was pleased to see it had calmed down again by the time I got up this morning. And, as I say, the conditioner did it no harm when I had a shower.

No doubt Tesco's will have already ceased to stock this particular conditioner.

RAS

Fish today

 I've eaten fish all day. I opened a tin of sardines at breakfast and ate one as a brunch. I had a salmon dinner and then when I got home finished the sardines as a snack. It seems to be working. I was getting worried that the ache in my left eye was returning yesterday - but it's almost okay tonight.

RAS

Honey, quorn, double chocolate and ginger

 Over the last week the assaults on my newly acquired stability have increased.

First my other half served a plate of gammon. I thought the gravy was rather sweet and gently inquired. "Honey" was the reply. Yes, not a term of endearment but the contents of the sauce. "Oh I thought it was okay". In fact the lists say honey is high in salicylate. It's not obvious way - something to do with it being concentrated plant matter, no doubt. So that screwed me up for a start.

The next day  a delicious chicken sauce was served. Sadly it was not chicken, it was quorn as we had some left over from catering for a vegetarian over Christmas. I have no idea whether quorn is meant to contain salicylate or not. However as it is made from mushrooms (or edible fungus) and it is probably grown in compost rather than grass, the chances seem high. Certainly my body thought so - as I went rushing to the toilet.

In spite of some inner turbulence and some tingling of the tongue,  my skin remained largely clear - until at the weekend I indulged in some double chocolate gateau. It was too tasty to refuse.

Then today I was offered a chocolate sandwich biscuit. I bit into it and tasted ginger. I had to finish the biscuit even though my throat was getting sore and I was getting hoarse.

Tonight the rash is back on my tummy and I have taken a singulair. It's instructive that I started the New Year clear and healthy - but staying that way is proving hard. I must avoid chocolate.


RAS

Wine and fruit juice

 The improvement that started before Christmas after I contracted a cold seems to be carrying on past the virus and past the New Year. I went to a function at the weekend and secreted a mini-bottle of Jack Daniels on me, just in case. However wine was laid on by our hosts so I thought why not? I drank quite a lot of white wine, enjoyed the party more and felt better for it the next day. The cure is not total by any means although I do wonder whether the rash on my tummy has gone for good. I've still got a blocked nose. It could be the after effects of the cold although I don't think it's viral. It's more like the blocked nose I've lived with for the past couple of years. If I eat something dodgy, then my tongue starts to tingle and my left eye is starting to feel sore.

Nevertheless I get the impression that my level of tolerance has improved quite a lot. So I've been going back to the lists the dietician gave me. I haven't consulted them for a long time. And there was always a problem of the contradictions between her first and the second lists. The first list said carrot and cauliflower were okay. The second said they have "moderate" amounts of salicylate. I've kept on with carrot and cauliflower over the time and even added spinach, forgetting it was not on the list.

The second list divided salicylates into high, moderate and negligible. Curiously the "negligible" list included squashes and fizzy drinks apart from Cola (which contains caffeine). That never seemed to work and I've avoid soft drinks until now.

It seems that this year I can continue to experiment with the moderate list. It may be the result of several weeks of largely home-prepared food and a reasonable amount of fish in the diet. And if I can drink wine, what about grape juice and apple juice? 2009 promises to be exciting!

RAS

Pet shampoo

 I was in a relative's house over Christmas and came across the hypo-allergenic shampoo that I'd noticed and tried before. I'd never been able to find anything like it in the shops and now I know why.

It's called Epi-soothe and when I read the small print I discovered it is prescribed by veterinarians for use on cats and dogs. I didn't try it again. However if it worked before there is no reason why it should not work again.
I guess it hasn't been tested to the same standards as shampoos sold for humans. If you are concerned about animal welfare, you may think that is a good thing.

RAS

Chardonnay

It's been a very merry Christmas indeed. Not only did I drink wine with Christmas lunch I drank it on Boxing Day and yesterday. In fact on Boxing Day I got through the best part of a bottle of Chardonnay, I estimate.

There have been minimal reactions. Some tongue tingling on Thursday and Friday but that's about it. Most significantly my skin remains largely clear, although there are some red spots on the arms. Apart from that I feel better than ever.

What a glorious Christmas! It had been two years since I drank wine.

So what does this mean? It raises a question in my mind as to how much salicylate is in white wine. After all it is the juice of white grapes, purified to some extent, possibly more than is grape juice.

Secondly it demonstrates that there is some flexibility. Maybe up to now I have been using that flexibility up in the consumption of chocolate. So if I avoid chocolate and eat home-prepared food and a reasonable amount of fish, sometimes I'll be able to enjoy a bottle of wine. I have doubts about red wine, which, of course, contains many more chemicals than white.

Happy New Year to all!

RAS

Cured by the common cold?

 Not quite maybe but it's made a big difference. Tonight I indulged in my first mince pie and sherry (actually a whisky and wine drink) for two years.

For it was two years ago I had to give up wine and beer and coffee overnight, just in time for Christmas. I'd already given up beer but wine was a real blow and Christmas pretty miserable.

Now the cold, which has nearly gone, seems to have dampened my immune system and increased my level of tolerance. Yesterday I indulged in chocolate puddings and a dish made with kidney beans and my skin was as clear as the full moon. No rash on my belly or my arms as has been normal. Tonight's indulgence hasn't let me off so lightly. My tongue started swelling and the red spots have started returning on my belly so I've had to take a montelukast to deal with it - my first for some time.

Nevertheless I now have a plan for Christmas Day. Zero-salicylate and plenty of fish for the next couple of days and then I can have wine with my Christmas lunch. Is this a little daring?

RAS

A cold

 It is a full-blown, stinking, glorious cold. It gets worse when I go out in the rain and makes me crotchety, just like a real cold. My first in three years.

I had another cup of redbush tea - great! - to stimulate the immune system. No need for echinacea. Even had some cashew nuts to provide some omega 6 and help get things going.

I have one question: is it possible to have a cold and hay fever at the same time?

RAS

Pepper!

 I went to a buffet today and it was great. On this occasion I had been consulted in detail about the menu beforehand. There was beef and stilton sandwiches and salmon and scrambled egg. And there were prawns in those little dough bags, whose names I do not know.

And everything reeked of pepper. I thought it was just the prawns but I took some of the other sandwiches away in a doggy bag. When I tried them later they tasted strongly of pepper, sprinkled over everything.

Tonight I'm sitting here with my nose streaming and my throat sore. It may be a hay fever type reaction or it may be a cold. I don't feel feverish and I haven't had a cold in two years.

RAS

Winter problems

It's December and the cold middle of the winter and you wake up with a slight runny nose and sore throat.

It could be:
1/ the beginnings of a cold, soon dealt with by an over-active immune system;
2/ non-allergenic rhinitis, ie a kind of hay fever caused by exposure to low level salicylates;
3/ the beginnings of a cold, which is going to buck the pattern of the last two years and become a real one;
4/ the beginnings of something worse, such as flu.

At the moment I favour the last as my insides also seized up and I've felt tired all weekend. After trying bananas and a high-fibre diet, I hit upon a remedy - redbush tea. I thought low levels of salicylates might trigger an internal reaction - and they did.

As to whether it's flu, we may never know. For it is quite possible the over-active immune system will kick in and see it off, especially after that delicious and far too short cup of redbush tea, my first for nearly two years.

RAS