... sugar... and coffee... and regular tea... and parmesan cheese... and veal parmesan... and wine... and tiramisu.... and...
The bacon I miss most is "Pancetta" (italian bacon) because I'm italian, and we put that sh*t in everything: sauces, soups, antipastos, etc.
And how, exactly, does an Italian become gluten-free? Which means pasta-free because any REAL italian knows pasta is supposed to be white, from semolina... not whole wheat, not whole grain, and never ever rice pasta!
So, while I'm giving up my favourite, crazy-delicious foods, and REALLY missing them - they're flavour, texture, smell - I miss feeling good and "normal" even more. Let me explain.
I have severe, debilitating panic disorder, which means I have full-blown panic attacks every day, sometimes several times a day. In addition, I have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) which my doctor said is due to my anxiety. So I have diarrhea a lot if I'm not careful, and sometimes constipation, and sometimes both... on the same day... even during the same bowel movement. Not fun.
So I did Dr. Fuhrman's diet for several months and... holy sh*t!!! Literally. His diet made my IBS MUCH worse. All his suggestions (eat more steamed vegetables, less beans to start with, chew thorougly, etc) did not make a difference. But I did lose 10 lbs the first two weeks (who wouldn't? living in the bathroom).
Then I switched to Dr. McDougall's plan, but the diarrhea still continued, although nowhere near as bad as when on Dr. Fuhrman's plan. Even if eating right makes me live a long time, I don't want to spend half those years in the bathroom! So I emailed Dr. McDougall.
To my surprise he replied!
Quickly and very thoroughly. I couldn't believe it because with Dr. Fuhrman, you have to pay for EVERY-little-thing!
Dr. McDougall suggested, among other things, that I cut out gluten. So, today is the first day I'm attempting to be
The Gluten-Free Italian and we'll see how that goes.
I can't say I'm liking this way of eating because, compared to my Italian food, this is very bland. But, I have to decide: What do I want? Amazing tasting food or my health? I choose health: physical and emotional. So I'm on board with all of Dr. McDougall's recommendation and I'm going to succeed, dammit!
All the anti-anxiety medications in the world haven't helped at all. In fact, the side-effects make everything much worse. And not one doctor/therapist ever suggested a change in my diet, even though, common sense dictates that food affects mood. There's even a book out by that title, I think. Of course what we put into our bodies affects our brain, our mental health! Duh! Why don't doctors know this?!!!
Anyway, here I am.... gluten-free and all (but I'm not
liking it... yet). I'm hoping to report back, in the near future, that I'm panic attack free and IBS free. THAT would be worth giving up everything italian.