(Over)sensitivity after whole 30?

[amykim]

Hi there, I am at the re-introduction phase and having issues with almost all of the food I didn't have during the whole 30!   

When I reintroduced wheat and soy (wheat, then soy), I had allergic reactions: hives, itchiness, and even throat-closing (I was almost getting Epipen!). Prior to the whole 30, I have no problem with wheat or soy, other than minor digestion issues. Sugar gave me a migraine (wasn't able to work for a half day). Rice, which was introduced the first even before wheat and soy, turned out to be OK, although I had a bit of bloating and tiredness. I feel like I am "oversensitive" to the food that I didn't have during the whole 30. 

At the post-whole 30, has anyone experienced allergic reactions (or allergy-like symptoms) to the food that you used to be OK with?

[613PennyLane]

If you didn't have an intolerance before, I don't know if you could just develop an intolerance to all of it in one month. I think your body might not be used to eating it and you may simply need to ease back into those foods before you can tolerate them again.

I'm curious about this as well because I know someone who didn't have any issues with canola oil until she cut it out of her diet and accidentally ate it again. She had a bad reaction.

[Wunderwuman1022]

So far I have only reintroduced a couple things since my 30 ended 4/22 and with rice I felt like an alien was trying to claw it's way from my stomach. I was visibly puffy and my wedding rings got tight.  And it was brown rice too! Pre-whole 30 I would crave starch and just eat a bowl of rice no problem. But I had a gf roll with homemade apple butter before that and was fine. Since then I haven't tried anything else since I'm so scared and that was on 4/29. 

[ShannonM816]

The way it's been explained to me is that when you're regularly eating things that are irritants, your gut develops a mucosal lining to help limit the irritation. When you cut those irritants out, that goes away, and then when you reintroduce those items, you're starting over from scratch with no lining to protect you.

Another explanation I've seen, more an illustration of what's happening, is -- say someone is following you around, constantly poking you in the arm in the same spot, over and over, all day, every day -- at first it hurts, it's annoying, but over time you get used to it, that spot may get calloused or hardened so it doesn't hurt as much. Then one day the person who has been doing this goes on vacation for a month. You realize how much better you feel when no one is poking you in the arm all the time, the callous may go away, any bruising heals up. And then that month vacation is over, and they come back and start up again, and it hurts and it takes some time for the callous to develop again, but eventually you get used to it again. 

@Wunderwuman1022 brown rice is actually more problematic than white rice for many people. Brown rice contains phytic acid that is removed in the processing of white rice, which can cause inflammation in many people. If you really want brown rice, you might look into fermenting it, a process that is explained here: http://holisticsquid.com/is-white-rice-bad-for-you/  

[Coquizinha]

I have a similar issue!

I have had psoriasis, an autoimmune disease, almost my whole life.  During the Whole 30, my skin almost entirely cleared up! It was amazing, and I couldn't believe my eyes!

After the Whole 30, I noticed when I ate dairy, or sugar, my eyelid, and the back of my ear would get really crusty and start to weep!! I've never had an issue like that before!! I still don't completely understand it but I did realize though when I cut those back out of my diet, my ear and eyelid would start to heal. 

I feel as if after the Whole 30, I've become a lot more sensitive to foods that I was eating before with no issues. It's unfortunate, because now I really have to watch what I eat all the time. Any slip up, will cause a reaction.  I really wish someone could explain why that happens, but at least I know how to fix it...

 

[MamaO]

I am experiencing the same thing! I haven't introduced gluten yet because I'm just don't want to feel bad. It was diary that got me the worst. So, do we cut these foods out all together or tough it out until the tolerance builds back up? 

[slc_melissa]

That's what your food freedom is going to be.  Are the consequences of eating those foods worth it to you?  

[Michelle12]

So I'm honestly struggling here. I chose to do whole30 mainly because I'm having trouble losing baby weight now that I'm over 40. (I'm the one with 11 kids who posted a few days ago.) Whole30 has not been amazing for me. I have less than I week left and so far I've not felt one ounce of tiger blood, and I haven't lost any weight at all. I am very careful to follow the meal template and be as conscientious as possible. Last night I incorporated some approved cocoa powder and cashews (ingredients I hadn't used yet this month) into a recipe (no sugar or anything else) and within 20 minutes I had a kick butt migraine that was completely debilitating and is still going strong (plus nausea etc.)12 hours later. I am miserable and unable to take care of my children or everything else that I need to do. I didn't have any real health issues I was trying to clear up and I honestly haven't noticed any significant difference in my health other than fewer sugar cravings. So now I am terrified to try to start reintroducing any other foods next week. I can't face more of these kinds of reactions.

I feel like this is the opposite of food freedom. I feel like I am in a food prison and terrified of making a wrong step or ever again trying the foods I used to love and do fine with (I have been longing for my homemade hot chocolate with biscotti that my kids and I all love -- but NO WAY I dare try that!) This was NOT what I wanted! I feel like I was fine before, just a little overweight, but now I am still a little overweight but with seriously food sensitivities to worry about. As I said, I haven't seen any noticeable improvement to my health overall, so this feels like a huge loss to me. I still have mild insomnia and my knees/hips still hurt if I kneel too long on the ground. I feel like my major take away has been creating much much more serious food sensitivities (giving myself a nasty migraine (not usual for me) just from cocoa!) where before I didn't have any noticeable problems. I'm thinking the protective mucosal lining was my friend. Maybe I was on the verge of some health crisis that just wasn't showing up yet -- I don't know. But I'm sort of wishing that I hadn't done this so strictly. I felt like I could handle it for a month, but this kind of cooking and meal prep is just not permanently sustainable for me. I've had to let other things go and pile up until I was done -- how will I ever get caught back up on the laundry and housework if I have to keep cooking like this and if I don't get a MAJOR boost in energy to help compensate? I feel like this would be a great way to eat if I were having serious health struggles that required my entire focus, but since I was just doing it to try to reboot and lose a little weight (which didn't happen) I am feeling serious regret...
I am in so much pain and so sick, and so so depressed. Please help... So what should I do now?

[Michelle12]

Melissa Hartwig, could you chime in here? I'm feeling pretty desperate for help. I've listened to your audio books and I see the purpose of the program, but I feel like I've just made my life SO MUCH HARDER! What can I do to be able to eat the foods I used to eat -- at least in moderation?

[KayB]

Cacao can be a migraine trigger so that might be just bad luck Michelle.

I'm sad to hear that you are having such issues. If things get really bad I would suggest getting medical attention. On the other hand, there might be two other mechanisms at work: one is the one that LadyShanna explained about being used to discomfort, the other might be a bit more tricky: maybe you would have been feeling off anyways and now you just connect it with Whole30 while there might be another issue somewhere. Are you more stressed, have you been around people with the flu, how are your hormones doing? There can be a gazzillion reasons to feel like crap, and Whole30 might be a trigger, since it can prompt a healing response and then sometimes things get worse before they get better, but you should be feeling better sooner or later.

Are you eating enough?

Since you want to loose weight you might be portioncontroling unconsiously.

Are you eating enough carbs?

Give yourself and your body time.... Giving birth to 11 children and taking care of them is a magnificent feat for your body, so it may need some time to regain strength.... You know those days when you are deadtired, yet keep on doing things and as long as you keep moving things are fine... the moment your butt hits a chair, you feel 1000 times more tired and almost incapable of moving... The chair isn't what makes you tired, it allows you to feel fatigue... Whole30 does not make you off, it allows you to really feel your body's needs...

Big Hug, you got this!

[Mtnchica]

On 4/18/2018 at 8:21 AM, Michelle12 said:

 

@Michelle12 Since this was a few months ago I'm hoping you found some resolution. Do you mind giving an update on how the rest of Whole30 and reintroduction went for you? 

I'm on day 22 and my experience has been very similar to yours so far - (minus the cacao-induced migraine) no Tiger Blood whatsoever, minimal if any weight loss/body change, sleep still disrupted, still having headaches. Reading through these feeds I'm getting very concerned about starting the reintro phase.  I'm afraid of having these severe reactions like others have, even though I didn't have serious issues before.  I fear that all I will have accomplished is making myself get sick on things I want to be able to enjoy in moderation.

Making things worse, I'm taking my niece on a vacation to NYC 14 days after Day 30 (yes, I know, I didn't take that into account when i planned the Whole30) so I'm just barely going to squeeze in the fast track reintroduction before we leave, and I'm so afraid I'll have really bad reactions that could ruin our trip. I'm tempted to stop the Whole30 a few days early and start reintroducing things just to make sure I have enough time to recover before we go.  Also I'm going to be really upset if I have more severe reactions to dairy and gluten than I used to because.. NYC means cheesecake, bagels and pizza!!

Has anyone else had a similar experience?  Thoughts on how i can minimize the reactions?

[SarahS2018]

I just want to share my experience from 2012.  In 2012 my eldest and I tried raw food for a week.  After a couple of days I had so much energy it was amazing.  Then on the eighth day in the evening I had 3 chocolate chip cookies.  My nose started running, I was sneezing, I was blocked up.  There was the horror of thinking maybe it is the chocolate.  Anyway it worked out that it was the gluten.  

My homeopath always said if you can't leave something alone, it is probably something you shouldn't be having.  There could be a packet of biscuits in the cupboard, which was fine, but once opened I would keep eating until they were all gone.

I have always had reactions to dogs, cats, hayfever and dust. In the evenings I would get a blocked nose and people would ask me if I was coming down with a cold.  It was affecting my quality of life, so I went to see my doctor about it.  The doctor wanted to prescribe some nose drops, which when I asked I would have to take for the rest of my life, so I went to see my homeopath.  After some remedies it was a lot better, but still there.

After cutting out the gluten the blocked nose in the evenings went away, but also the reaction to dogs, cats and dust disappeared.  I am not sure about the hayfever, but if I am experiencing hayfever in the summer it is not bad.  I wished I had know that I had a problem with gluten about forty years ago.

I can tolerant a small amount of gluten, as in I will buy normal oats, but only have a small amount and not very often.  I can tolerate food that does not contain gluten, but has been prepared in a gluten environment/factory.

I have been known to eat doughnuts when I have a head cold, as I am blocked up and my nose is running anyway, but I don't even do that now as I can't taste it because I am blocked up with the cold 

It is very hard to suddenly not have something and I have to say it took until about 2016 for me just to say no to anything with gluten.

My child said to me that it is like the gluten intolerance was making my body work overtime, then dogs or cats was too much and that is why I got  such an immediate, violent reaction to them.

I suppose it really does come down to 'is it worth it?'