So at one time this “What I can’t eat” page existed for a few reasons, most of which centered around feeling sorry for myself. Which I don’t apologize for, by the way. We take dietary choices for granted so often; it begins to feel like our right to choose our meals based on priorities of taste, comfort and budget, and honestly even ethical and moral and health priorities are easier to account for than a persnickity digestive system.  To bend ones will to fit such a volitile and unresearched condition is annoying to say the least.

Beyond that, I admit I had hoped that the few vegans and vegetarians that chose to pick fights with me on the Daily Plate regarding my conversion to carnivorism would visit this page now and then and realign their conception of when it is okay to internet yell at someone and accuse them of not having real values….obviously this was also a form of feeling sorry for myself, and the stats page showed me that it never happened.

Now its time for a change. The list of what I can and cannot eat has changed, anyway, although the big concept of staying away from starches, fiber, sugars and chemicals hasn’t changed much. The way I think about my food restrictions has changed. The actual restrictions themselves have changed too; what I can eat a week out from a successful course of Xifaxan (if I ‘m lucky then its a normal “balanced” or junky meal) is different from what I can eat on a bad day during a flare-up (very little.)

I would like to do away with this page completely, but it gets quite a few hits, because honestly, reading about other peoples’ food restrictions can tell us a lot about whats wrong with us, and how to fix it. If your restrictions are the same as mine, and you know whats wrong with you, then maybe the same thing is wrong with me. If we avoid the same foods, then maybe we can get well together.

And there’s the last reason why I felt this page needed a renovation. Lately I’m trying in my own mind to move away from nutrition as a preventative approach and towards nutrition as a healing process. I can’t tell if I’m getting cracked out on “altie” folklore (I’ve been reading Jordin Rubin and Elaine Gottschall) or what but I’m ready to stop focusing on restrictions  like staying away from grains and fructose, and focus instead incorporating new foods into my diet to take their place.

But since you’ve come here looking for what I can’t eat, the short list is as follows:

Can’t Eat At All
Fructose
Grains
Splenda
Legumes
Oats
High fructose corn syrup
Apple Cider Vinegar (the supplement girl at the health food store thinks I just don’t want it to work…)
Inulin / FOS

Must practice moderation
Nuts
Berries
Lactose
Kombucha
Other sugars (besides fructose)
Buckwheat (I usually don’t eat this unless I’m on a real upswing and then I try to have a quarter cup a  few times a week only)
Potatoes
Blue-veined cheese
Tomatoes
Carrots