Reality Checks

Dairy Woes

Ok, so you know that awesome Primal Cannelloni recipe I posted last night?  Well, apparently my body is really unhappy with something in it, and it’s probably the cheese.

One of the things Whole 30 teaches you is that there are foods out there that are probably causing you problems, whether it’s something small like bloating and gas or something big like muscle pain or fibromyalgia, the foods we eat can have a major influence on how we feel.

Before E.J. and I started, I was a big milk drinker.  I had a glass of milk with my breakfast daily (either in cereal or as a drink – sometimes both) and ate tons of cheesy foods.  I absolutely love cheese, yogurt, sour cream and ice cream… pretty much I just adore dairy foods.  E.J. and our daughter have always had a bit of an intolerance to dairy which manefested itself as intestinal discomfort.  But I thought I was fine – after all, I’d been eating/drinking dairy products my whole life, and never had an issue.

Fast forward to now, and I’ve learned a thing or two about myself when it comes to dairy.  After severely limiting my dairy intake for the last six months, I’ve discovered that I do indeed have a reaction to dairy in the form of swelling.  It’s funny though because it doesn’t happen every time.  I can typically eat caesar salad with Parmesan without any problems, and we’ve had Paleo pizza with a mozzarella topping a couple of times, and I don’t remember having trouble with it.  But something about the cannelloni last night must have triggered it, because I woke up with my arms and legs feeling puffy and sore.  My fingers actually ache a little.

Of course, I can’t guarantee the cheese was the culprit.  I don’t eat eggplant very often and it’s a nightshade, and I did some work in the back yard yesterday morning, so I could be getting a reaction to the plants I came in contact with, but just in case, I’m going to stay away from the Italian today and maybe try again later in the week.

In the meantime, Benadryl is my friend.

Leave a Reply