What Reactions Mean

[Maggiedoll]

I'm just about to start my Whole30, and there's something that's really bothering me that I haven't found an answer to.  I know I want to do it, I'm mostly prepared, I've had awful springtime allergies since moving to the middle of nowhere, so if this helps with seasonal allergies, I'm doing it.  And I've gotten into food habits that I would like to change.  But I'm afraid that if this question is simmering while I'm in more difficult days, I'll end up using it as an excuse to quit. 

 

It's pretty well established that changing your diet can have unpleasant effects even if it's a good change, right?  Otherwise the first half of the W30 timeline wouldn't be dedicated to all different ways you'll feel awful.  Which makes sense, since adapting to a change takes effort. 

 

So if you react badly in reintroduction, how do you know that you're actually sensitive to that food? 

If you haven't eaten dairy (or grains, etc.) for a month, your body hasn't been digesting it for a month, and it went through all the changes described in the timeline to adapt to eating different foods.  It seems logical that if you haven't been eating something for a while (dairy in particular) that you'd have some digestive distress simply because you're body wasn't expecting it.  It's a change.  Your body went through all the effort of adapting to other things, why would it not need to go through the same efforts when another change is made?  It seems like the whole measure of whether a food is good for you is whether you feel better or worse after eating it... except during the Whole30, at which time any distress is just your body adapting.  With "caveman paleo" approaches the logic seems to just be that you're not meant to eat particular foods anyway, so it's dismissed.  But with this, it's supposed to be based on evidence, not theories about cavemen. 

 

Is there some logical standard or measure that I've missed?

[MeadowLily]

Andrew Badenoch's line: "Paleo is a logical framework applied to modern humans, not a historical reenactment."

 

Caveman Paleo is so diluted now that it means Caveman Paleo Desserts and all kinds of processed sweet potato chips and snacks.   It's become a branding tool and everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.  It's cool to be Paleo but no one really owns that term.  

 

So which Whole 30 version are you going to follow or best suits your needs?  

[ladyshanny]

It seems like the whole measure of whether a food is good for you is whether you feel better or worse after eating it... except during the Whole30, at which time any distress is just your body adapting.  

While yes, many folks do feel awful during the first part of Whole30 as their body adjusts, it's less because they are having to adjust to the foods they are eating and more because their body is in transition of healing from foods that were irritating or foods that the body became reliant on (easily accessed sugars).  Some of the experiences people have related directly to converting from sugar to fat for fuel and increased fibre.  Neither of these indicate that the food being consumed is problematic even though they have uncomfortable side effects.

 

When you consistently eat foods that are irritating, the gut produces an extra thick mucosal lining in order to try and protect itself from those foods.  Once you have been off of the irritating products for a period of time (30 days), that lining gets sloughed off because it is no longer required.  Then....you add back something like dairy or grains and if that food is irritating for you, you will experience a reaction.  Not everyone experiences a reaction when they add back dairy or grains or non gluten grains.  That reaction is unique to you and your body.  Could you, potentially, inoculate yourself to the irritating food over time? Sure, because your body will recreate that thick gut lining.  This would not be a favourable course of action though.

 

Let me know if this helps explain it at all.

[evaq]

Something else to consider: whole30 is an elimination diet. Yes, a nutritional reset, but also a defined protocol for removing and isolating food groups (and chemical agents/preservatives) from our diet. After cleaning your engine (30-day elimination reset), you mindfully re-introduce food groups slowly to your body, thereby understanding your unique reaction and relationship to it. Our current (typical North American) diet has us typically eating our meals in a stew-like fashion ie. a combination of fats, protein, grain, dairy, sugar. We're constantly eating from all the food groups. How would we ever know what our triggers or sensitivities are? Well, we isolate them and then with a cleanish slate, re-add them in a controlled manner.

 

The physical reactions you get while doing whole30 are physical BUT they're often rooted in detox, triggers, emotional-psychological crutches. The physical reactions you get post whole30 are about your body reacting to a specific ingredient. At least that's my logic.

[kirkor]

When you consistently eat foods that are irritating, the gut produces an extra thick mucosal lining in order to try and protect itself from those foods.

[ladyshanny]

Kirkor....one of the best movies ever!

[Maggiedoll]

Let me know if this helps explain it at all.

Yes, that definitely helps. 

 

Some of my concern may have been from reading posts from people who seem to have stepped over the line into orthorexia.  The ones that talk about it being permanent and never ever eating particular things again based more on "because it's bad" than "because I have a bad reaction to it."  (Which of course is completely contradictory to what's in the book anyway.)  And how nobody they know understand why they'll never eat those things again.  (I'm having trouble imagining many people not understanding why somebody wouldn't eat something that makes them sick.)

 

I understand the strict rules for the Whole30, the point is to change your habits.  That's a big part of what I like about it.  It's easier to stop snacking when your go-to snack foods are completely off-limits.  But would I be right in assuming that not many people would really think twice about vanilla extract after the Whole30 is finished?  (Unless they have celiac; I know that they can sometimes have issues with flavorings extracted with alcohols made from glutenous grains.)

[ladyshanny]

Yes, that definitely helps. 

 

Some of my concern may have been from reading posts from people who seem to have stepped over the line into orthorexia.  The ones that talk about it being permanent and never ever eating particular things again based more on "because it's bad" than "because I have a bad reaction to it."  (Which of course is completely contradictory to what's in the book anyway.)  And how nobody they know understand why they'll never eat those things again.  (I'm having trouble imagining many people not understanding why somebody wouldn't eat something that makes them sick.)

 

But would I be right in assuming that not many people would really think twice about vanilla extract after the Whole30 is finished?  

I'm not sure of too many threads where people are publicly vilifying foods as "bad", are you referring to this forum or elsewhere?  

 

Sometimes people truly feel so amazing at the end of their Whole30 that they truly do not want to go back to eating their old foods.  Other times people have read the book and truly believe in the science that there are some foods that are simply not good for humans (canola oil, carrageenan, soy etc) and choose to never allow those products into their bodies again.

 

You would be pretty accurate in assuming that most people will relax the very tight restrictions around things like alcohol in vanilla or dijon, sugar in ketchup etc.  

As far as people not understanding why they would choose not to eat black beans or dairy or what-have-you, that's really on the other person. Does my friend understand why I don't eat dairy? Not especially, she thinks that I'm crazy and depriving myself of something "healthy".  I just don't choose to tell her about the massive rash and itching that I get when I eat it.    There are foods that I have declared are not healthy for me and with a properly done Whole30 and reintro, you will come up with your own list of what is or isn't healthy for you and what you will and will not choose to deviate for.  And that is just as it should be!  

[Maggiedoll]

I'm not sure of too many threads where people are publicly vilifying foods as "bad", are you referring to this forum or elsewhere?  

[..]

As far as people not understanding why they would choose not to eat black beans or dairy or what-have-you, that's really on the other person. Does my friend understand why I don't eat dairy? Not especially, she thinks that I'm crazy and depriving myself of something "healthy".  I just don't choose to tell her about the massive rash and itching that I get when I eat it.  

That "The Crazy Things People Say" thread. 

 

I don't understand your logic in not telling friends or family that you react badly to a particular food.  Not necessarily exactly what happens or announcing your allergy to the world, but what's the point of not telling a friend who you eat with that you've discovered that you're allergic to something that you used to eat? 

[ladyshanny]

That "The Crazy Things People Say" thread. 

 

I don't understand your logic in not telling friends or family that you react badly to a particular food.  Not necessarily exactly what happens or announcing your allergy to the world, but what's the point of not telling a friend who you eat with that you've discovered that you're allergic to something that you used to eat? 

 

How I answer has evolved over time. Basically I've gotten to the point where I don't feel the need to justify my reasons for eating or not eating something.  I certainly used to in the beginning but as time has gone on I've realized how unimportant that should be to other people around me.  If someone offers me a dairy latte and I say "Oh, no thank you, I don't consume dairy, but thanks for the thought!", that, to me, should be the end of the conversation.  Whether I react to it or just choose not to consume it isn't the business of anyone else and a person's choice shouldn't be up for debate.  Plus, when that same person offers me an ice cream cone in the middle of summer, I might choose to accept the consequences of the rash I'll get and enjoy the ice cream and I don't want to have to explain my rationale.  

 

I fully get that it is easier and less boat-rocking in the short term to just say "it hurts my stomach" and I definitely do occasionally fall back on that when people just won't quit....but for the most part how I choose to eat does not affect another single person.

 

This obviously excludes my family and very close friends. The person I referenced is not a "close" friend so I don't feel the need to discuss any bodily issues related to food with her any more than I would explain a yeast infection or haemorrhoids to her.

[Maggiedoll]

This obviously excludes my family and very close friends. The person I referenced is not a "close" friend so I don't feel the need to discuss any bodily issues related to food with her any more than I would explain a yeast infection or haemorrhoids to her.

That makes sense.  Some of the comments I was reading sounded like they were from family and closer friends, though.