We went into town on Wednesday to do a "Healthy Shop" at the Health Food Shop (of course!) and on the way, got some fresh apples and others to top up the fruit bowls. Green bananas, a pomegranate, organic pears, some manderins (I'm not meant to have those, so my husband will eat them), lemons, and then the apples which I eat about 4 a day of. They are high in quercetin which is good for my lungs. Quercetin is an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxident (asthma is much about inflammation of the lungs). Cranberries, plums, blueberries, blackcurrants, cherries, are all fruits high in it, and vegetables onions, green chilli peppers, kale, broccoli, lettuce, chicory, sweet peppers and french beans are also high. All of these, I think I am correct in saying, I can eat. But there's a long list of stuff to avoid as well! Which leads me on to . . .
Remember my post back in January, when I wrote of "eating myself well"? Follow the link if you don't! Well, here we are again, and this time I have a very strong suspicion (shared by my respiratory nurse) that I may have histamine intolerence, probably (hopefully) caused by my gut flora being depleted after so many courses of antibiotics.
So, after doing a lot of research, I have decided to go for a month without as many high-histamine foods/drinks as I can, eating a diet which is low-histamine, and with limited foodstuffs which release histamines into the system. A difficult balancing act and at first the diet looked like it was going to be SO BLAND. Not even any curry powder, so I'll have to blend my own mix, no soy (Soy is a REAL bad guy, as is anything fermented). I have yet to start smoothie making but in the meantime I am not starving. Last night's supper was salmon steak with grated ginger and red chilli, and a pile of purple French beans from the garden and the last of the garden-grown runner beans I bought from a stall at Malvern last Sunday. Scrummy.
As you can see, I have alternative gluten-free flours for baking, though I don't think I have Gluten intolerence, but for a month . . .
I prefer organic fruits and vegetables when I can get them, although of course they carry a big premium in price. I have always been careful to wash/peel fruits and vegs because of the hideous sprays used on them which I am sure are the cause of a lot of illness/deaths.
My "treat" from this pile was the Nakd banana bread bar. Hardly two mouthfuls but really tasty, and nearly . . . well, almost . . . as nice as a bar of chocolate (which I'm not allowed, chocolate that is). The bottle with the illegible label is toasted sesame oil for stir fries.
I shall be back to say more about this I am sure. It's early days yet, but I am hoping, when I start on a course of probiotics, that things will really start to change for the better. I am following an excellent blog called the Low Histamine Chef and have downloaded one of her books to my Kindle. Onwards and upwards I hope . . .
