Monday, June 1, 2015

Breaking Up (With Potatoes) Is Hard to Do: A Health Update

How's this for a revelation?

About ten months ago, I transitioned from a raw food diet to The Starch Solution/McDougall way of eating. I was thrilled to be able to eat starches and potatoes and have it help me be healthy and manage my weight. And yet, ever since I made the transition, I noticed that the great moods and energy that I had exerienced while on raw seemed to have been fading away. I couldn't comprehend how I was eating so well and yet was experiencing poor moods and brain fog and lack of energy. I loved what I was eating but I was just feeling down. All the time. Reading post after post about people experiencing renewed energy on this WOE confused me-- how was this not me? I knew intuitively that something wasn't right, I just had no idea what my body was trying to tell  me.

Fast forward until about a month or two ago when I began having digestional distress- really bad flatulence and gas, and I started taking probiotics, thinking they would help my problem. I put my finger on the fact that potatoes were the culprit. A friend of my sister's confirmed they are a source of discomfort for her as well. It's funny- some Fridays, I would have potatoes and ketchup or salsa as a meal. I wouldn't eat anything else and I would still experience distress. It never even dawned on me that the potatoes were the reason why. I didn't want to give them up but when probiotics weren't helping all that much I knew that letting them go was inevitable. I did some research about sensitivity to nightshades and it would seem that I am indeed sensitive to them. Further reading indicated that some side effects of the nightshades are depression and mood swings. Suddenly, things began to make sense. I had been eating them every.single.day for almost a year, it's no wonder I felt the way I did. And this whole time, the humble potato was responsible. Who would have thought? I know that there isn't scientific research or studies to back this up and there is no way to know for sure but my body doesn't lie. I hope this is the key to a happier future.Thankfully, after really giving them up, I feel great and my moods are much better. It was sad for me to part with my best friend the potato but I've given rice and quinoa and sweet potatoes top billing in my diet and you know what? They don't hurt me. True friends never do. 

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