Had a bad reaction, not sure what it was.

[CGinDC]

I had a salad from Chop't today (22nd day). I had the same salad ingredients as usual - mesclun salad greens, grilled steak, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, and bell peppers. I used to get this salad with the low-cal dijon vinaigrette, but when I started the Whole30 I switched to fresh-squeezed lemon juice and olive oil. Then I did some research, and it seemed that the regular dijon vinaigrette would be compliant. The don't post all ingredients on their website, but they do post allergen information and it looked like it would be okay - no gluten, dairy, or soy.

 

Well, it clearly wasn't okay - I couldn't finish the salad because my stomach hurt so bad - I felt horribly bloated. That was immediately followed by the same type of headache I got during the first week of my whole30, and it lasted the rest of the afternoon.

 

I emailed them asking about specific ingredients - they wouldn't give me the list because it's "proprietary," but they said if I had specific ingredients I was concerned about they would tell me if they were in the dressing. So, I asked about type of oil (there's "some" canola oil), any preservatives (none), and what is in the dijon mustard (only mustard seeds, vinegar, sea salt, and water), and sweeteners (there's a small amount of sugar in the vinegar used in the dijon). I can't imagine that such a small amount of canola oil or sugar would cause such a bad reaction. Did I miss anything else that I should have asked about?

 

Do I now need to restart?

[melbournegirl]

The seed oils can cause problems. Canola is indigestible to humans until its been through multiple processing steps. Generic vegetable oil is pretty indigestible too but not known as an allergen so they may not have mentioned that

[Zoodles]

Sometimes (often) there are nasty antioxidants in oils like canola, e310-321 are particularly bad. Lots of people have bad reactions to them, inlcuding my son and my brother.

 

Synthetic antioxidants are widely eaten yet usually overlooked. A small number of consumers react to a single dose, but it is more likely that effects will build up from small doses eaten nearly every day. These additives can be associated with the full range of food intolerance reactions such as irritability, restlessness and difficulty falling asleep; mood swings, anxiety, depression, panic attacks; inattention, difficulty concentrating or debilitating fatigue; eczema, urticaria, contact dermatitis (from cosmetics etc) and other itchy skin rashes; reflux, sneaky poos, bloating, abdominal pain, stomach aches and other irritable bowel symptoms including constipation; headaches or migraines; frequent colds, flu, bronchitis, tonsillitis, sinusitis; stuffy or runny nose, throat clearing, cough or asthma; joint pain and arthritis.

[Bet]

Maybe too many raw veggies? tomatoes and peppers are nightshades and can be inflammatory. Also raw onions are a FODMAP and could cause digestive upset. I know you've been having these all along, but sometimes your stomach says 'no mas'!

[CGinDC]

Yeah, that may be it. I sometimes get stomach upset with raw veggies, but it was the accompanying headache that really did me in, and was unusual.

 

I've been thinking about eliminating nightshades after I get through my first Whole30...maybe this was a sign?

[Carlaccini]

I've had these reactions to canola - stabbing stomach pains.  It took me a while to realize it was canola.  But it's a pretty big culprit.  So not surprising at all.

[MrsStick]

Sounds like my reaction to MSG, which can be labelled as MSG or as yeast extract (hydrolized or non).

[Physibeth]

I'm with MrsStick on this one...I'd be suspect of MSG.

 

Edited to add that MSG has a long list of sneaky names.