A Boring Entry About Revamping My Dietary Habits
A big THANKS Y’ALL for the comments/sympathy/advice on the post about losing my mind (and my breakfast and my will to live) on an airplane last week. Every time I get hit with labor pains really awful cramps, less than 24 hours later, I find myself surfing the Internet, scouring for any information that might improve the situation. I have made a lot of changes over the past few years that have helped lessen the regularity of “The Monster” as my roommate calls it. However, if last Monday was any indication, I have not yet found the solution for eradicating it completely.
HOWEVER! I sat and reflected on the events leading up to getting attacked by The Monster on an airplane back from LA and I do believe I have found the culprit and his name is Caffeine.
And now, let’s go back in time for some BACKSTORY ACTION!!!
The first time I ever got into coffee was back in college (DIDN’T WE ALL!? THOSE WERE THE DAYS!) when I had a three hour math class from 4:20-7:20 pm twice a week with the most monotone heavily Buffalo-accented professor that ever lived. He regaled us with stories about math and stories about how he liked to GEO Cache on the weekends, some kind of weird treasure-hunting activity you partake in using your GPS System. I had no idea what he was talking about (re: the GPS or the algebra) and would spend most of my time drooling onto the equations in my textbook.
NOT HELPFUL TO PASSING THE CLASS. Which was four credits, mind you. FOUR CREDITS.
I succumbed to sipping on some delicious flavored coffee from the little café in the lobby of the building, adding lots of extra milk. Mmmm! Suddenly, I WAS ALERT! And PAYING ATTENTION! And staying awake long enough to doodle caricatures of my professor in the margins of my notebook!! ALL WAS WELL. Until the following Saturday, when I did not have coffee and came down with the biggest headache in the history of the world.
WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? I screamed, cradling my head and moaning.
That, said my boyfriend, is caffeine withdrawal.
And BOOM! I banished coffee from my sight.
That shit is CRAZY.
But it tastes so goooooooood.
Today, I waffle back and forth about coffee. It’s never become a regular staple, but when I need a pick me up, it is my very best friend. And sometimes, on lazy Saturdays or Sundays, a warm cup of coffee is just the thing. Perfection. Delicious. YUM.
I had been instructed by my gynecologist to lay off coffee (and chocolate! WHAT!) in order to ease the pain in my very fibrocystic boobs. Caffeine exacerbates the heavy feeling, the excruciating soreness that makes me want to take two bags of frozen peas and stuff them in my bra for two weeks out of every month. (Does anyone else experience this? MAKE IT STOP.)
HOWEVER, I did not realize that caffeine not only affects boob soreness but has the ability to turn regular menstrual cramps into sharp stabbing pains that make you barf on a plane.
WHO KNEW!?
Sure enough, when I reflect on the days leading up to that fateful day last week, aboard Delta flight #84, I had thrown all caution to the wind and sipped a lovely iced coffee with lots of soy almost every other day. BECAUSE I WAS IN LOS ANGELES! And that is my idea of HEAVEN! Because, you see, I LOVE THE TASTE OF COFFEE! And walking around the warm weather with an iced coffee, OH YOU GUYYYYYYYYS!
But then you end up in an airplane bathroom crying into your ice chips and was that lovely walk around Larchmont sipping on your beverage on a Sunday afternoon worth it? WAS IT? LAURA I AM TALKING TO YOU.
And so, I have made the decision to abandon caffeine. This makes me very upset though I think in the long run, it will be good for me. I know that a little coffee once a day is good for you and relatively harmless but I think I have to admit that for me, it probably isn’t worth it. Not to mention, I am very sensitive to how it makes me feel, often getting jittery and anxious after drinking one or two cups. (I AM PRETTY SURE THAT EVEN THOUGH I AM SITTING SAFELY AT MY DESK AT WORK, A SERIAL KILLER IS COMING BY TO CHOP ME IN TWO AT ANY MOMENT! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!)
Plus I noticed a DRAMATIC improvement in my cramps over the past year when I started taking B vitamins regularly. They were far less painful and didn’t last as long. While I was busy Googling the effects of caffeine, I came across a FUN FACT: Caffeine blocks the absorption of B vitamins. HA HA WHAT!? So even though I was taking my vitamins, the coffee I was drinking was rendering them null and void and PEOPLE? That is unacceptable. One more reason to kick caffeine to the curb, especially because B vitamins are important for like, making your brain, like, work. And stuff.
So, coffee is gone. Right now I’m favoring some herbal teas. (Lavender chamomile! HOLLER AT ME!) And I cry for the days of that sweet sweet coffee with soy milk.
SIGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
Speaking of coffee with lots of soy milk…
(WHAT A SEGUE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WHAT A SEGUE!)
I have decided to cut down (or cut out completely, which might be impossible) the amount of soy I ingest.
When I first became a vegan, I read all there was to read about giving up meat and dairy. I read “The China Study” and “Diet For A Small Planet” and I was convinced of the benefits of such a diet, for my body, for the animals and for the environment. However, like most new vegans/vegetarians, I gave up meat and dairy in favor of super processed soy products like Not Dogs, barbecue “chick’n” nuggets and fake cheeses and OH MAN, I know you think I’m nuts, but those things are TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASTY!!!!!
The problem was, they made me feel like crap. And they aren’t “real” food. My digestive tract went berserk every time I ate them and so, during the summer, with the help of my CSA and Michael Pollan, I tried to get rid of them entirely, favoring whole foods with ingredients I can pronounce. Foods like “Apple”.
I know. I’m a genius.
To worry me further, I have taken to reading “The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food”. I’m only 86 pages in and you guys? I AM TERRIFIED.
I feel extremely grateful that I’ve stopped eating the processed fake sausage but a bit worried that I continue to consume about a cup of soy milk every day and tofu about 4-5 times a week.
Something that really clicked for me was the information about soy and the estrogen it contains. My mother has gently suggested on numerous occasions that the soy was to blame for the issues with my uterus and I wonder if she is correct. And so I am totally freaked out right now that there is all this soy estrogen hanging out in my body, giving me various cancers and making me infertile. OH SOY! YOU ARE SO CRUEL. YET SO TASTY.
The book is fascinating and kind of flips everything I thought about soy on its head.
No, those soy nuts are not healthy and not a pure form of soy. No, Asians don’t eat a lot of tofu. And yes, a permutation of some sort of soy protein is in pretty much EVERY SINGLE FOOD EVER MADE and we are ALL GOING TO DIE AND DESTROY THE RAINFOREST AT THE SAME TIME.
Okay! So! Now that we’re clear! I suggest you pick up a copy of this book! I also suggest you give me other suggestions for stuff to eat that is not 1) meat and is not 2) soy. In the mean time, I will be over here! Eating APPLES. And that’s IT.
We’ll see how this experiment goes. I, for one, am at the point where I am ready to do anything for the sake of my body and my health. It has been through hell lately and I think the best thing I can do for it is to eat better. I will post later in the week about some meals I have replaced/swapped/deleted from my diet and the wonderful things I am now eating instead. I KNOW. YOU’RE EXCITED. ‘Til then, put down the Fakin’ Bacon and pick up an iced coffee and think of me, think of me fondly, over here with my mint tea and smiling happy soy-free ovaries.
Well, you know what? You might be right about the caffeine. I am such a coffee-addict myself, but give up for a week every month. I heard caffeine also messes up water intake. So if you DO drink coffee on those days, make it decaf or follow up with a glass of water. Yeah, I know this the hard way, I had to go to the ER couple of months ago. So when I read your blog about this, Laura, I feel you. Really.
Now about the soy. Frankly, I don’t know much about it since I’m not vegeterian/vegan. But I did read some stuff about soy causing weird problems for men. Anywho, I hope you get a solution with your soy problem. Sorry, couldn’t help there. Take care now!
It’s quite a relief to read this, because your airplane misadventure really bothered me. I’m glad you seem to have identified the culprit and that you will perhaps never experience anything like that again. At least until you’re actually giving birth.
However, why give up coffee if you enjoy it so much? There is such a thing as decaffeinated coffee, and I find it to be quite delicious. I drink it at night when I want some coffee but also want to be able to fall asleep at a reasonable hour. There is still some caffeine present, but according to this link, you’d have to drink five to ten cups of the stuff to equal one cup of regular coffee. Also according to that link, instant decaffeinated Folgers Coffee Crystals truly contain no caffeine. I’ve had that. I like it. But I’m not picky.
In closing, soy is the devil. Rock on with the diet improvements.
I eat black beans about 98 times a week. Will those kill me too?!
Tim – DECAF! Yes! I don’t mind the taste either though most people are like BLECH! WHY BOTHER!? I bother. Because it’s awesome. I need to find some fun FLAVORED decaf coffees because that would make my life complete.
Laurie – YES! THEY WILL KILL YOU SOON. AND THE RAINFOREST. AND PUPPIES. You must read the famous book “The Whole Black Bean Story: The Dark Side of Mexican Food’s Favorite Bean”. IT’S A THRILLER.
Farah – Yes. Coffee completely dehydrates me as well. And with the hot yoga that I’m taking, I am constantly chugging water to replace what I lose when I sweat it out. I think the coffee was making that very hard as I was CONSTANTLY thirsty. THANK YOU FOR FEELIN’ ME. The ER? eeegads!
Hi, Laura–
It IS amazing how much of an effect diet can have on health–who would have known? Cutting out caffeine and salt for about one week every month has been totally worth it for me. I’ve also been trying to reduce my soy intake due to some other health-related problems I’ve had which may or may not be connected to soy. Switching from soy to rice milk was a big step for me, and bloggers like Soy Free Vegan help keep me inspired. Soy is so tasty and versatile, but everything in moderation, right?
Here are two soy-free vegan soup recipes that I love:
http://foodandspice.blogspot.com/2008/08/red-lentil-soup-with-baby-arugula.html
(I’m not this Lisa, btw. I like to add carrots with the onion/garlic and use whatever kinds of greens I have around when I don’t have arugula.)
http://veganyumyum.com/2008/10/delicata-squash-bisque/
Happy food journeying!
I love that book! Unfortunately not a lot of people who are soy fans are very open to hearing about anything in there – I’m happy that you’ve found it and are open to it.
You might want to research the supplement DIM. It is supposed to remove “bad” estrogen from the body (from foods (soy) and from the environment (BPA)).
As a coffee replacement you might want to try Yerba Mate. Read about proper brewing because otherwise it can be quite bitter.
I read today that 45% of the calories from broccoli are protein – that’s pretty amazing in my book! Make some hearty soup with your CSA vegetables, add barley – YUM! Try Eden Foods rice and beans – my favorite are the pinto beans. Big bonus, none of the cans are lined with BPA!! You could also try making a Lentil Loaf. Crustless Quiche (I use grated zucchini and finely chopped broccoli, using all of them stem), and Eggplant Lasagna for some satisfying but meatless meals.
Lisa – Thanks so much! I will look into soy-free vegan! And I LOVE soup and vegan yum yum both! So I will try my hand at those recipes!
GreeninOC – I completely relate to what you’re saying and agree that soy fans are not always open to hearing the negative. In fact, a few years ago when I brought up the danger of soy question to my die-hard vegan ex-boyfriend, he said “Yeah. I don’t want to read about it. It’ll freak me out.” Uh. WHAT?
I will try the Eden Foods beans, I’m not sure my grocery store sells ‘em! Right now I do a lot of canned beans but yeah, the BPA thing. So many great suggestions! I will get on ‘em! And yes, lots of vegetables have tons of protein as well as beans/legumes/etc. WOO HOO!
I ate a bunch of chicken hearts last night. Slow cooked them in olive oil. Spiced them with lavender, rosemary, thyme, fennel, basil, marjoram, savory and natural sea salt. Made me think of you, Laura, in a “Laura would be mortified that I’m eating the hearts of chickens” kind of way. But also in a “Fun new recipe! Hey, Laura’s looking for fun new recipes!” kind of way. I suspect that recipe will be close to last on your list. Although I suspect that if I swapped out the chicken hearts for artichoke hearts it would be almost as good. Almost.
I protest! Truth in advertising— where is the boring part? I believe the exception on soy being a good food is when it is fermented===> tempeh! and real soy sauce (Tamari one brand) which is really fermented and not just cooked up in a factory overnight. I guess we’ll be hearing from you in a few weeks that you have conquered the monster and sailed thru without trouble—that will be a most welcome boring entry.
I don’t eat soy so I haven’t worried about its affects. What I wanted to comment on was how certain foods affected your body… so very true…
I have now been diagnosed with IBS after two years of unexplained abdominal cramps and diarrhea. During this process I found out that I can’t eat yogurt, cottage cheese and potato chips. WAAAH! I can live without the chips but I love yogurt and cottage cheese. But it just wasn’t worth the pain and agony of ingesting it. Plus, I think I really should be listening to what my body is telling me. I might have other foods that are off limits but I haven’t found any other links yet between food and pain.
I recommend that you try to eliminate different foods and be open to what your body might be telling you. It sucks to have limitations but it sure is worth it in the feeling better department.
Tim – Chicken hearts? I…no. You grossed me out! You did! But…swap out for artichoke hearts? Add a little pasta? BE STILL MAH HEART.
Maggie – You are correct. So far in the book, the exception to the SOY WILL KILL YOUR BABIES is tempeh and tamari. The fermenting process rids the soy of the bad stuff. I was hoping to read tofu was good too but that’s not what I’m finding. It also sucks that I love every soy product EXCEPT tempeh. UGH.
Bille – Rock on! So sorry to hear about your IBS diagnosis. HORRIFYING. But yeah, our bodies are all different and sensitive to different types of things! I think a lot has to do with the environment/toxins as well but yes! If eliminating certain foods makes you feel better, it really isn’t worth the temporary pleasure of eating it in the first place! SAD.
Have to admit, the chicken hearts kind of grossed me out, too. I was looking at all those chicken hearts, simmering in their olive oil and spices, and thought, “What the heck am I doing? Why did I see a package of chicken hearts at the supermarket and think, ‘Hey! Chicken hearts! That’s different!’? Why am I making a meal of twenty chicken hearts? This is kinda gross!”
But then I ate them and they were good. Artichoke hearts probably would have been better, though. Especially simmered in olive oil and lemon juice and assorted spices. Mmmmm.
Some ideas for your soy conundrum:
-Replace soy milk with rice milk or almond milk.
-Seitan! It’s not soy-based (it’s made from wheat gluten) and is a great meat-substitute. My fave Thai dish, vegetarian duck, uses seitan. And delicious Thai magic. You can use it sliced for stir fries or the like, or chop it up to use as a ground meat substitute for chili, burgers, meatloaf…
-Beans are a great source of protein and have a nice heartiness so can be used as a meat substitute- bean-based veggie burgers, bean casserole/loaf… I’m especially fond of lentils.
-You can get cheese-substitutes that are also soy-free. The ones I know of are rice-based. http://www.galaxyfoods.com/Products/VeganCheese/RiceVegan/ Same with vegan/soy-free ice cream: http://www.tastethedream.com/products/rd_frozen.php There is another company that makes delicious rice-based ice cream sandwiches, but I’ve forgotten the name.
Hi, yes Im with you on the soy thing and have tried very hard to cut down/out of mine and my kids diets. We eat A LOT of dried beans and patties and dips and soups and salads and casseroles and get the picture? everthing bean….. my 2 yr old is addicted to fake chicken nuggets though…. its a tough one to break I also use rice milk, have for years though because that was one thing I could not stand, was soymilk. I go on and off the wagon, but have definately cut down, keep trying….
just found your blog via crunchy chicken.
Sorry to hear about your food problems. I feel your pain, though. It’s hard making a change.
Have you considered working more raw foods into your diet? It has helped me quite a bit. My frequently upset stomache has much improved as a result. I don’t know if there are any studies on it helping with “women’s troubles”, but since there would be a natural reduction in soy consumption, it may be helpful.
Green Smoothies can be very nutritious and delicious as well. They make a nice substitute for coffee. I find I don’t even crave coffee when I drink my smoothies regularly.