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elise8
USA
72 Posts |
 Posted - 11/27/2005 : 11:11:14
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Does anyone have any input on the effect of foods on the body causing symptoms? I am a vegan who usually eats mostly raw fruits, vegetables and some nuts and seeds. I feel better eating this way. Over Thanksgiving I ate more cooked food and things that I usually do not eat. That night and the next day I felt horrible. Headache, jello head, no energy, dizzy. I felt like I had been drinking all night.. Could this be TMS or are there genuine chemical reactions that can take place in your body from sensitivities to certain types of food that can cause real physical symptoms? I did not except that I would feel this way and did not feel guilty eating it at the time, it tasted good at the time, so I really do not think power of suggestion played a part. I had no alcohol, only different foods that I usually do not eat...
Elise
Elise8 |
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n/a
560 Posts |
Posted - 11/27/2005 : 12:31:37
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I do understand the issues around meat eating but consider that although vegan diets are undoubtedly beneficial in certain respects, they are detrimental in others, causing minor to serious health problems that often go unnoticed. Even the most informed, health-conscious vegans run the risk of malnutrition. There are several nutrients that are found in abundance in animal products, but exist in only a handful of vegan foods. Therefore, critics argue, while it is possible to get all of the essential nutrients on a vegan diet, it is extremely challenging.
Vitamin B12, for instance, is only naturally-occurring in animal cells and yeast or mold cells. Since vegan sources of vitamin B12 are scarce, vegans must be vigilant about getting enough of this essential vitamin. This is an arduous task, made more difficult by the fact that some vegans altogether avoid yeast or bacterial products. These people must rely upon fortified foods and supplements. A popular argument against veganism is that heavy reliance upon artificial nutrient sources (vitamin pills, fortified foods, etc.) is an unhealthy practice. These people believe that nutrients should be delivered to the body in their natural packaging, which just isn’t feasible on a strict vegan diet.
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HilaryN
United Kingdom
879 Posts |
Posted - 11/27/2005 : 12:37:37
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I'm convinced it's TMS. Sure, there are probably genuine chemical reactions causing physical symptoms... but I still think TMS is the hidden cause.
I've been successfully re-introducing foods into my diet which I've recently had to avoid. Also stopped taking mineral supplements without which I'd previously had horrendous headaches..
Suz seems to be going through similar process. She also posted that Dr Sarno told her he believed diet acts as a placebo:
http://tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1481&whichpage=2
Hilary N |
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n/a
560 Posts |
Posted - 11/27/2005 : 12:54:34
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Hilary,
One cannot say with certainty just by reading Elise's posting that this is a manifestation of TMS. As I noted in my previous posting, there are many health issues surrounding maintaining a vegan diet which have nothing to do with TMS.
Yes, sensitivity to various foods can be a TMS equivelent, as has many people who have recovered have noted, but given all the health issues involved in vegan diets one should not rule out that a real diffiency in Elise's diet may be playing a part. Ultimatley, a good nutritionist would be able to answer that question. |
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HilaryN
United Kingdom
879 Posts |
Posted - 11/27/2005 : 13:07:13
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Hi Peter,
Point taken - although it appeared to me, reading elise's post, that it was the foods she didn't usually eat which were apparently causing symptoms on the occasion she ate them.
Hilary N |
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 11/28/2005 : 15:54:18
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This is a subject near and dear to my heart. I'd been very sick for over a decade from an inability to tolerate many different kinds of foods..
The description elise gives of the symptoms I get are pretty accurate, times about ten though..It's a terrible hangover type feeling, complete with intense headache, weakness, malaise, and when I'm really going good, a kind of toxic, "poisoned" feeling I wouldn't wish on anyone...
I'm much better than I used to be and now eat foods I wouldn't dream of touching even a year ago...I attribute some of this to a 13 day water fast I went on...But then again, I'm not really sure as I've also been struggling mightily to apply the TMS model as well...
I also have symptoms of severe hypoglycemia, although my blood sugar levels are normal...
As is often the case with these mysterious ills of the modern age (I kind of lump mine together with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia and mcs), it all started during a period of intense stress in my life...
I think the cause and cure of these kinds of illnesses is complex...as much as I would like to believe they're all pure TMS, I just don't think it's all that straightforward...I will say this, I've been so sick in the last years on occasion that I genuinely thought I might be slowly dying of this stuff...If it is all psychosomatic, it's just one heckuva testament to the power of mind over body...
I wish I had more answers than I do...meanwhile, I do the best I can on a daily basis and remain grateful for small improvements.. |
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Suz
559 Posts |
Posted - 11/28/2005 : 17:58:14
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this subject is near and dear to my heart! I have been plagued by food intolerances for 12 years. I am 98% convinced that all of my reactions to dairy/wheat/sugar etc. is TMS. I still have a 2% doubt - if I am honest. It is such a tough hurdle for me as I spent years denying myself. Drziggles pointed out that it could just be another very very effective distraction - like OCD and I agree with him. Up until a few months ago, i spent hours obsessing over what I would eat - what ingredietns were in this and that. My symptoms were hangoverish feelings - groggy/headache/terrible fatigue and acne. Well - I think they might all be conditioned responses of my body - i tell myself "no - you can't eat that food because you will feel awful" - and of course I do. Like TMS in general, the trick is not to be threatened and caught up in the fear.
I had a terrible cold over thanksgiving. This is the first year ever that I ate exactly what I wanted - pie, potatoe, cheese cake etc. - you know what - I didn't have any of my usual symptoms. I think because my brain was busy focusing on my cold symptoms. I couldn't believe it!
This has to all be nonsense. My food issues started the same time as my back pain - not a coincidence.
Elise - i do think that your body could be a little shocked by this totally new food - or maybe not. After all, our bodies are brilliant machines - capable of handling anything. The brain is also very very clever and knows if you have some fear attached to foods. Elise, did you really not think about how different the food would be for your body? Was there not one moment of wondering as you ate it? If you are still in the throes of TMS, your body will use anything.
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Suz
559 Posts |
Posted - 11/28/2005 : 17:59:50
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| Sorry - Elise, I Meant your brain will use anything to distract you. |
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verdammt
Canada
97 Posts |
Posted - 11/29/2005 : 06:41:27
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"...our bodies are brilliant machines - capable of handling anything. The brain is also very very clever and knows if you have some fear attached to foods...If you are still in the throes of TMS, your brain will use anything."
Well said, Suz! You hit the nail on the head!
There's also the control aspect to consider. When we go somewhere for dinner, we lose that all-important total control over what we eat.
Ideally we TMSers should only attend pot-luck dinners and eat what we brought along. |
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elise8
USA
72 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2005 : 09:09:32
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I actully ate mashed potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie and some dinner rolls. Those were the things I usually do not eat but I really did not think they would hurt me. I avoided the Turkey. I avoided any alcohol. I also ate a large amount of salad which I normally do. So I really do think it was just a reaction to the different food. The only thing I could think was that it was just a lot of cooked food. When foods are cooked the chemistry changes drastically with all the enzymes totally destroyed. So if your body is low in enzymes as many of our bodies are when we get older or when we become ill, than cooked food cannot be digested properly. I really felt horrible the next day, very congested and headachey. It is known fact that some foods can be mucus forming and this can have an effect on the body. When food goes in to the body it is like a chemical reaction taking place, in fact it is all chemistry as I recall from biology class. Saying that it is all TMS would be like saying if you took a certain drug and it had an effect on the body it would be purely TMS. This is nonsense. Foods can cause reactions and affect in the body just like drugs. Look at the people that die from anaphalactic shock from certain foods (peanuts) or bee stings. Otherwise we could just live on total junk, preservatives, and never have effects when it has been very well studied the effects of diet on small kids, (causing ADD and other hyperactivity disorders, ear infections in young kids from drinking too much milk). I attest to this as when I first started giving my son cow's milk when he was young and weaning off breast milk, he started to get ear infections, horrible ones, from the mucus producing milk. When I stopped the milk and other dairy, he stopped getting chronic ear infections. So I just do not believe that food reactions are purely TMS... I think there has to be some component of a chemical reaction. Granted you can go crazy with this and pretty soon think you cannot eat anything. I believe it may be possible to have a TMS reaction with food but I do not believe that all food reations are positively TMS..
As for my vegan diet, this is a very long argued subject with merits for the vegan diet and merits against it. I think for some a vegan diet will work and for others not. For me it seems to work better. I dropped my cholesterol from 230 to 165 as just one of the merits. And, I have my B12, iron, thyroid, ect monitored and so far the doctor says my blood work is perfect. I do take a B12 supplment 3 x per week, but do not rely on volumes of supplements and powders. I do eat 10 sevings of fruits and vegetables every day so I am sure I am not as deficient as some meat eaters as far as antioxidents go. I also eat plenty of nuts and seeds for protein...and I have lost my big fat stomach that I used to have while eating the SAD diet... My achy joints also cleared up... The only thing I can't seem to get rid of is the intermittent dizziness that I still have and little things that I do attribute to TMS, and I am continuing to work on those... But, I am very, very thankful for the many improvements since going to a vegan diet....
Elise
Elise8 |
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jmulcahy
10 Posts |
Posted - 02/18/2008 : 09:11:09
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| This is an old post too, but I just want to chime in that my food sensitivities (and I had a LOT of them) disappeared while I used Dr. Sarno's technique. |
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painintheneck
USA
124 Posts |
Posted - 02/18/2008 : 10:47:16
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"I actully ate mashed potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie and some dinner rolls."
I have symptoms when I eat these HIGH carb foods, even pasta and rice if not eaten in small amounts. Often nausea, dizziness, heart palps or elevated heart rate, flushing. Be it TMS or not I don't know but I do know that I feel better without some foods. |
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cheryld10
13 Posts |
Posted - 02/19/2008 : 11:18:00
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This past summer I became gluten intollerant. I would get rashes, headaches, bloating, intestinal swelling, shortness of breath, even ended up in ER. My tests all came back normal, and don't show an intollerance. I still won't eat gluten though.
Now it's my back that's getting me. I fainted from pain and ended up in ER again. I'm a mess.
Cheryl
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armchairlinguist
USA
1397 Posts |
Posted - 02/19/2008 : 16:03:43
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quote:
My tests all came back normal, and don't show an intollerance. I still won't eat gluten though.
Now it's my back that's getting me.
This is the symptom imperative at work. Since you can't get the "reaction" to gluten anymore (because you will not eat it even though there is no clear physiological reason for you not to), you get a different distracting symptom -- back pain!
You can win against the gremlin if you face it head on instead of letting it switch from symptom to symptom to distract you!
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It's not 100% belief that's required, but 100% commitment. |
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FOOD reactions and TMS
