Day Two

I feel amazing and surprisingly did not wake up starved to death like I thought I would. Later in the day however, I did start craving carbs a little... the antidote, which I won't be able to take advantage of until tomorrow, is Carrot Ginger Crackers I'm dehydrating overnight. For today, I settled for a handful of raw nuts.

Breakfast: 125 cal  0.4 fat
Goat's Blood Smoothie
**made with beets and strawberries, so don't worry, no animals were harmed in the making of this smoothie

Lunch: 150 cal. 1.5 fat
Almost-Raw Cous Cous Salad
**see yesterday's post for recipe

Mid-day Snack 250 cal, 0.7
Sushi, raw tuna and raw veggies wrapped in raw nori (www.rawguru.com)
Pickled Ginger

Dinner: 44 cal  0.4 fat
Heirloom Tomatoes

**each meal was followed by 24 ounces of water, I do not drink during meals

Again, I was really worried about the total calorie count and added the sushi midday due to that fact. Still, even with the sushi my count seemed low. Also, I had a few MSG allergy issues (migraine) after eating the sushi even though I though I was being very careful and read all the labels. So, I'm not sure what's up with that... and in fact, in hindsight, the cous cous may be the true culprit, not the sushi.

Total cal: 569
Total fat: 3.0, 7% fat

Going forward I will eventually have to address the calorie issue, but since I could stand to lose twenty pounds, I'm not worried for now -- as long as my energy stays high, and right now, it's pretty dang high, even after the migraine...

Still Dealing With MSG Issues!

All the prepackaged food is gone from the pantry...
There is no eating out. Period. So I am making everything from scratch, right down to the condiments like mustard, mayonnaise, and barbecue sauce...

And still I'm having MSG issues:
Blinding headaches (migraine or cluster)
Severe abdominal pain
Debilitating fatigue
Joint pain
(How do I know it's just not the RA I'm dealing with? Because all of these symptoms manifest within 30-45 minutes of eating anything with MSG...)

So where is it hiding? There will be a video at the end of this post that really delves into the problem. So here is where I found MSG this week ... my whole chicken (its in the liquid and the water that's injected into the bird (our govt says up to 30% liquid is allowable)), it was in my spices (the garlic and turmeric were imported from China and were not labeled)...

Call me frustrated...
This video explains a lot:

Lunch This Week

All this week -- to make sure staying raw is as easy as possible, I am starting my mornings with smoothie and following up with a super colorful, happy lunch...

It suddenly seems doubly important for me to stay raw or as close to raw as I can. I have been diagnosed with MSG sensitivity...seems like more than an allergy because the list of problems coming from MSG sensitivity mimic RA so closely that I wonder if one of the reasons the relief from Humira or so far the Simponi seem hit and miss and/or fairly random might be because of the MSG interference...

And I thought I was already AVOIDING MSG because I know it's not a healthy choice, but boy, oh boy, was I wrong! I now have a complete list of ADDITIVES TO AVOID...and it's quite surprising!
List of MSG masks
Basically, if it sounds man-made, I gotta avoid it...

Also, did you know that foods can be labeled "Natural" and "All-Natural" and still be loaded up with MSG? I did not know that. It's because the FDA and Food Labeling Commissions agree that MSG is a "natural product" because it occurs in nature. So now, even at the Health Food Store, I will be reading labels.

If you have known MSG sensitivities or allergies you probably already know that these restaurants reportedly use MSG liberally:
KFC, McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King, Wendy's
Chili's, Applebees, TGIF

IF you have any of the following symptoms after eating you may want to start looking at labels:

1. Severe headache
2. Nausea, diarrhea, vomiting
3. Irregular heartbeat or blood pressure, racing heart
4. Depression or mood change, bipolar, SAD
5. Abdominal pain, cramps, bloating, colitis, IBS
6. Balance problems, dizziness, or seizures, mini-strokes
7. Tenderness in localized areas, neck, back, etc.
8. Sleep disorders
9. Blurred vision or difficulty breathing
10. Chronic fatigue or sleepiness
11. Excessive perspiring or shuddering and chills
12. Shortness of breath, chest pains, asthma
13. Swelling, pain, or numbness of hands, feet, jaw
14. Pain in joints or bones
15. Flushing or tingling in face, chest, pressure behind eyes
16. Gagging reflex or difficulty swallowing
17. Hyperactivity, behavioral problems
18. Chronic post nasal drip
19. Skin rash, itching, hives
20. Bloated face, dark circles under strained eyes
21. Extreme thirst or dry mouth
22. Difficulty concentrating and poor memory
23. Slowed speech
24. Chronic bronchitis-like symptoms, allergy reactions,
dry cough, hoarseness or sore throat
25. Heavy, weak feeling in arms and legs