Have you ever had that moment where you realize something so obvious that that you feel kind of dumb for not thinking of it sooner? I totally had that moment this week. I've been battling a really bad sinus infection that I'm sure was allergy induced. I am seriously allergic to mold. When I was tested the doctor had to redo all of my tests because I reacted so strongly to mold that it covered all the other test marks. So knowing this I try and avoid mold. I don't go into the basement or damp areas, I wear a mask when raking leaves and I take an allergy medicine every day. Yet I still end up getting sick from my allergies a lot. I always have this drainage going on. So here I am making something to eat the other day and I had this realization that I never considered the foods I eat as a culprit in my allergies. I mean hello, cheese and mold go hand in hand!
I started reading up on it and found that a lot of people have relieved themselves of their allergy symptoms by following a yeast free/mold free diet. It's kind of extreme, there is a lot that you can't have. You have to avoid sugar since it feeds yeast and mold in your body, a lot of fruits are out since they have high mold contents, basically you can have berries. Starchy vegetables have to be avoided for the same reasons. Peanuts, out. Breads or anything made with wheat or oats, out. Dairy, out. The good news is that vegetables are in and beans are okay as long as they are made from dried and not purchased canned. Meat and eggs are okay and kefir and yogurt are in. Stevia is the only sweetener that you can have. Most nuts are okay and grains like brown rice, buckwheat and quinoa are all acceptable. I have been thinking for a long time about giving up dairy since it absolutely kills my stomach and makes my drainage way worse. So I don't think that will be that bad. I also can't have caffeine, so no coffee, which is also okay because every time I drink that I feel terrible also. I can drink water and ginger tea and some almond milks.
After thinking about my day and how I eat I've realized that i really only need to make a few changes. This is what my typical meals look like and the Candida/Mold free changes that I hope to make;
Breakfast:
I always eat a fiberone bar and banana
Candida/Mold free switch will be 1 cup Kefir or greek yogurt and berries.
Lunch:
I most often have a lo carb tortilla with black beans, peppers, lettuce, onion and a tiny amount of dressing.
Candida/Mold free switch will be either finding a buckwheat tortilla or skipping the tortilla and adding extra lettuce. The dressing will have to go but I'l either replace it with a dressing made from greek yogurt or a squeeze of lime.
Snack:
I usually have either kefir, yogurt or carrots dipped in a greek yogurt dip.
Candida/Mold free switch: I'll probably just switch the carrots for bell pepper strips.
Dinner:
I usually have a lean protein (chicken, fish, beef) and veggies. Sometimes we have pasta or wraps.
Candida/Mold free switch: I'll be eating more brown rice and quinoa in place of pasta and as I said I'm hoping to find a tortilla substitute. We usually have fish that has a very light breading so that's out. I also love potatoes so that will probably be the hardest thing to give up. I'll be increasing my intake of greens, broccoli, squash and green beans.
Dessert:
This is the tough one. If I have dessert I usually eat a weight watcher ice cream. Ice cream is my weakness, even though my stomach hurts every time I eat it.
Candida/Mold free switch: I'm hoping that I can find a sorbet that is made with Stevia that would be awesome or maybe a coconut milk ice cream with Stevia.
So anyway, I'm headed to Whole Foods today to see what I can find and to get some Grapefruit seed extract since I keep hearing how great is is for sinus infections. I'm at least committed to giving this diet a good try while maintaining my weight watchers diet. If it made a change in my life where I didn't feel sick all the time it would be worth giving up any food.
