I had an onion bhaji last night against my better judgement and spent the night in, shall we say, digestive distress. There was a time I could consume even raw onions with abandon, chopped onto tuna jacket potatoes, in salads and the like. But now a sniff of an onion seems to spell disaster for my insides and every one else's outside. And it seems I am not alone. So many of my friends now avoid certain foods which they used to tolerate but now can't.
As an aside I was going to title this "A Middle Aged Lady's Woes" until I did some maths (yes US readers we do maths not math in the UK). I will be 56 soon and if I was middle aged that would give me an estimated lifespan of 112 years. So depressingly I am going to have to admit that maybe 56 isn't classed as middle aged? Comments welcome.
Back to the onions. And garlic and leeks.
Almost ten years ago I did an allergy test for the blog thinking it would say I was mildly gluten intolerant. I was astounded to see a much wider range of allergens including dairy - the lovely consultant said it was probably the butter on my bread causing the issue rather than the bread!
A few dietary changes really helped but in recent years my issues with bloating, toilet dashes and truly toxic emissions have made me feel fat and miserable. I am an expert at the "hide the bloat" pics of myself..
I have diabetes and cutting down carbs as part of my constant battle against blood sugars helped slightly but it got to the point where I felt I couldn't eat anything! Eating out seemed to make symptoms worse. My husband suggested carrying imodium for when we were eating out and not going straight home but I don't like the idea of using it like that.
So I downloaded a low FODMAP diet guide app with the idea I could use it as a guide to avoiding the worst culprits when shopping or ordering food. The app I use (it's called Fodmap A-Z and is free) is not perfect but gives a good idea of what to avoid and what should be OK using red, amber and green labelling. Onions, as in the onion bhaji were of course redder than home side at Arsenal matches.
The idea with FODMAP is that you start being quite strict with what you eat, sticking to the "green" labelled foods at first then gradually reintroducing foods one at a time until you find the worst offenders.
As I don't have actual allergies and my issues are relatively minor I am being a bit more relaxed with it but have still noticed a significant difference in bloating and stomach upsets following the guide. I've also largely given up my favourite fizzy drinks which has also helped a lot. Although I will make an exception for a dash of Coke Zero in a Long Island Iced Tea with my main cocktail drinking partner Claire.
If I'm invited out to dinner then I'm not going to refuse food because it has some garlic in it for example but at home I use garlic salt or infused oil (green) instead of actual fresh garlic (red). At home I'll have the bhaji (although with it fresh in my mind actually maybe I won't) but at a friend's for a takeaway I'll stick to tandoori meat. (I'm struggling to find a side order that isn't really carby or is fodmap friendly.)
I don't really understand why my tolerance is decreasing for food. I wonder if it's the fact that as humans we weren't really designed to live as long as we do so once my reproductive years passed maybe my intestine decided it was due for retirement too?
Luckily I am quite the carnivore so a lean meat heavy diet with approved veg or salad suits me.
What have you had to give up or avoid as you've got older?