It's a either a feat of stubbornness or a massive stroke of luck when people arrive with little to no guidance where I've arrived, with vast health improvement and relative physical ease after years of symptoms from GI hyperpermeability driving immune and neurological dysfunction and pain.
In my own case, I knew all my more obvious food triggers. I'd been on careful diets attempting to accommodate my pain for many years. But I did not understand that mast cell activation was still being driven by cumulative histamine load. I had had no answers with respect to periodic GI dysmotility, chronic, invisible illness, and undiagnosed IBS--all likely related to familiar family traits of hypermobility. I had no perspective on the relevant implications of resultant dysbiosis and SIBO--all states that a body may often wander into and out of if well cared for, but over long, long periods if there are too many complications it can also all become a self-sustaining cycle. By the time one finds answers and is convinced of their validity by their having solved some problems, one finds, that many, many people have done the same.
Mast cell disorders are estimated to affect a broad swath of the population--up to 17%. Those who are most severely affected probably know it--this is fighting to stay out of 24/7 anaphylaxis. The rest of us mostly don't know it from our allergies, again, GI issues, or so on. Other health conditions, including inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, can be the result of perpetual GI hyperpermeability.
Gluten intolerance is currently estimated to affect 6-15% of the population, according to mainstream sources. But 20-30% of us aim to eat less gluten or none at all.
I'll be the first to say that I don't know the causes for all these conditions, nor the best approach. What's clear is that many guts aren't happy.
You should be working with a doctor. There's no sense in eliminating variety and ease from your diet without need. But where answers have not been forthcoming, where your body is in a stable state from which to try an elimination diet, and where your doctor stands behind the experiment and can help to advise on next steps whatever may be the result, an elimination diet might be a good idea. Getting to the point where you can identify acutely what is causing trouble is so valuable--and in many cases, hopefully the first step toward eventually welcoming it back into your diet.
People wanting to try an elimination diet to address these kinds of issues benefit greatly from professional support, but it's hard to find--especially locally. Resetting dietary standards, figuring out what to eat, and even just living very differently in relation to one's kitchen can all be very hard, particularly for those new to this kind of change.
I'm looking for professionals in a few categories to help build the first stages of a project. The dream is:
professional guidance on the particulars of your individually-tailored elimination diet
tiered subscription to recipes, meal kits, and fresh, fully-prepared meal delivery
a community of locals trying similar or same adjustments at the same time for a short, committed, evidence-based trial period, with opportunities to get creative and problem-solve together in a test-kitchen.
optional ongoing deliverable subscription or on-demand pickup of seasonal, compliant foods
access to The Yes Cookbook, on online, customizable catalog of recipes and meal inspirations to work with your current requirements and inspire a truly positive experience of dietary change
Food-Related Autoimmunity, Vojdani & Vojdani.)
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5677194/
If you happen to be new to a restrictive diet--perhaps related to a migraine protocol, food intolerance, or celiac disease--you may be familiar with the discomfort of hearing and telling yourself no when you just want to be doing life. Whether you've lost one favorite food or dozens, it's a lot to adjust to.
It's helpful in the early stages, before habit sets in and eases the new situation--(it will!)--to focus on the word YES and on the world of possibilities that remain. You'll have to learn to eat and prepare food differently; more importantly you'll have to embrace the unknown and find some enthusiasm for discovering a new culinary world. That's no small job but you can do it, bit by bit.
The Yes Kitchen and The Yes Cookbook are designed to make it easier to readapt your diet and to restore your culinary inspiration.