Oscar
10-18-2009, 04:50 AM
Although I am new to IC and don't profess to know anymore than I've learned in the last 48 hours, I think I have something to contribute from what I've seen so far.
Diet is critical. But changing one's diet is one of the hardest things to do. I've done it before, years ago. At about the same time I quit drinking and became a vegetarian. This took about 80% of my menu off the list. The not drinking was the only logical choice, and more or less "imposed", the quitting meat was, after eliminating all the other food intolerances, an impulse to, for once and for all, try to figure out what was wrong with my bowels. Kind of hard to do when you pour down triple vodka's, so now was the time. And, it worked.
In the beginning there is a great sense of loss, just like now with IC. Not only is it the specific foods you can no longer eat or drink, it is also intensities that you miss. I love hot sauce, salsa, pickled herring, aged manchego all the things that are now on the no list. :mad:
But I also remember missing my beer and only having an occasional NA beer. In the beginning it was a poor substitute but it was all I had as an a-stringent beverage. Interesting though, as time went on it started "filling" my palette for lack of a better word. It really hit me when my wife and I were at a party. I had gone to get beverages. A "normal" beer for her, and an NA for me. I had poured them both in a cup. When I made it back to my wife I gave her what I thought was hers, and took a sip of what I thought was mine. It wasn't. And it was GROSS. It was strong, it was YUK! Like when I was an 8 year old and sneaked a sip from daddies scotch for the first time. And this coming from a guy who a year before drank warm vodka straight from a flask without even twitching an eyelid....
So, my taste buds had re-set their bar. They will do that. Those of you who are ex smokers may know the taste of a cigarette after not having smoked for a long time. Nothing like we remembered it and, frankly, quite gross.
Now coming into the IC world I realize that I will have to use this knwoledge to make the transition palatable. (Sorry for the pun). A lot of food intolerance is about thresholds. So, we may not be able to eat everything, but there are a lot of things that we can eat in moderation. On another thread someone asks about Taco Hell. I responded about how I make my own burrito's. I used to put LOTS of spices in those. For a while now they will be spice free, and frankly, probably a little bland. But I know from experience that my taste buds will come back to the "reference plane" and that if I carefully experiment with a LITTLE cumin down the road, my taste buds will find the flavor in the dish. Same with curry, another one of my favorites. Plus, there are mild and spicy curries, I'll try to use the mild. Just a miniscule pinch. Today I wouldn't taste it, a year from now I know I will. Then I'll put the jar on the table and others can add to theirs. By the same token I suspect that a very small piece of onion sauteed in with whatever meat I'm cooking will now be lost, but a year for now will jump out, but be a negligible amount as far as my bladder is concerned.
Ironically I have, for the last six months, been trying small amounts of fish and meat again, no red, and so far my bowels are happy. Good timing.
No, none of this will work in restaurants where the cooks heap it all on. But frankly, I prefer cooking my own food and socializing in the kitchen with my loved ones.
Food for thought.
Diet is critical. But changing one's diet is one of the hardest things to do. I've done it before, years ago. At about the same time I quit drinking and became a vegetarian. This took about 80% of my menu off the list. The not drinking was the only logical choice, and more or less "imposed", the quitting meat was, after eliminating all the other food intolerances, an impulse to, for once and for all, try to figure out what was wrong with my bowels. Kind of hard to do when you pour down triple vodka's, so now was the time. And, it worked.
In the beginning there is a great sense of loss, just like now with IC. Not only is it the specific foods you can no longer eat or drink, it is also intensities that you miss. I love hot sauce, salsa, pickled herring, aged manchego all the things that are now on the no list. :mad:
But I also remember missing my beer and only having an occasional NA beer. In the beginning it was a poor substitute but it was all I had as an a-stringent beverage. Interesting though, as time went on it started "filling" my palette for lack of a better word. It really hit me when my wife and I were at a party. I had gone to get beverages. A "normal" beer for her, and an NA for me. I had poured them both in a cup. When I made it back to my wife I gave her what I thought was hers, and took a sip of what I thought was mine. It wasn't. And it was GROSS. It was strong, it was YUK! Like when I was an 8 year old and sneaked a sip from daddies scotch for the first time. And this coming from a guy who a year before drank warm vodka straight from a flask without even twitching an eyelid....
So, my taste buds had re-set their bar. They will do that. Those of you who are ex smokers may know the taste of a cigarette after not having smoked for a long time. Nothing like we remembered it and, frankly, quite gross.
Now coming into the IC world I realize that I will have to use this knwoledge to make the transition palatable. (Sorry for the pun). A lot of food intolerance is about thresholds. So, we may not be able to eat everything, but there are a lot of things that we can eat in moderation. On another thread someone asks about Taco Hell. I responded about how I make my own burrito's. I used to put LOTS of spices in those. For a while now they will be spice free, and frankly, probably a little bland. But I know from experience that my taste buds will come back to the "reference plane" and that if I carefully experiment with a LITTLE cumin down the road, my taste buds will find the flavor in the dish. Same with curry, another one of my favorites. Plus, there are mild and spicy curries, I'll try to use the mild. Just a miniscule pinch. Today I wouldn't taste it, a year from now I know I will. Then I'll put the jar on the table and others can add to theirs. By the same token I suspect that a very small piece of onion sauteed in with whatever meat I'm cooking will now be lost, but a year for now will jump out, but be a negligible amount as far as my bladder is concerned.
Ironically I have, for the last six months, been trying small amounts of fish and meat again, no red, and so far my bowels are happy. Good timing.
No, none of this will work in restaurants where the cooks heap it all on. But frankly, I prefer cooking my own food and socializing in the kitchen with my loved ones.
Food for thought.