After whining about it all week, I have finally decided that I really must give up dairy for a while.
I love dairy. I love cream in my one cup of coffee, I love a little bleu cheese in my salad, and yes, even a cream sauce once in while. In order to follow a strict Paleo-ish lifestyle, however, dairy is one of the things that must go for a variety of reasons.
Loren Cordain has a book out recently called "The Dietary Cure for Acne" which encourages strict adherence to the paleo diet, including no dairy, no alcohol, and no natural sugars like honey for at least the first 30 days, then he suggests you can test things out to see if you have a flare up as a result of adding something back in.
I think I can live with this. I am currently having a really bad flare up of acne, even though I have been pretty good about my diet (not counting dairy). I do follow Paleo guidelines, I just have cream in my coffee and sometimes I add cheese to salads or use sour cream, etc...I don't eat a ton of it generally, although I have been fairly lax lately. (Note the cream sauce earlier this week).
So, I resolve to be better! First, however, I must use up my cheese supply...Today we are having taco salad which will use up the cheddar I have and the rest of the sour cream. Then comes the hard part. I will stop drinking cream in my coffee. (I may have to replace my coffee with a good tea.) And last, I must give up wine and vinegar for 30 days. (Apparently there is also some connection with fermented things and autoimmune disease...)
By the end of this week, I should be doing fine. Meanwhile, I am still working with my husband to improve his cholesterol, and attempting to keep track of what we have eaten--although I haven't been very good about that this weekend. I did finally get our calories under control though...We went from 3000 the second day of our experiment to about 1500-1700 the last few days--much better! (Our carbs are 30-50 per day, and our calorie goals are 1500-1800 per day.)
OK, I need to go research salad dressings and marinades now, no vinegar and no dairy pretty much cuts out all of my favorites, thereby giving me a chance to experiment. Never a bad thing... :)
Hi Sara,
ReplyDeleteI hear you on cutting stuff out, I've been through it. If you're open to suggestions, I would offer fermented veggies and the juice they ferment in as a wonderful salad topper. I eat paleo too, and that's quickly becoming a staple. Lettuce/salad covered with fermented veg like sauerkraut or whatever else, topped with warm ground meat or poultry or bits of sausage.
-Sarah
Thanks Sarah, that's a great idea. When I lived in Germany fermented vegetables were very common on the salads. I'll have to try a few combinations and see what might be good. Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteSara,
ReplyDeleteWhat is your nut consumption like? I found once I cut out nuts I haven't had any skin issues since. Nuts being predominantly omega-6 and containing some gut irritants as well could lead to some inflammation. Have you checked out Robb Wolf's podcasts, The Paleolithic Solution? He touches on the Nut & acne topic in one of his episodes.
Thanks Ben, I will have to check that out. I don't eat many nuts, maybe a handful of almonds here and there and some macadamias from time to time, but not often. I'll have to check out what Robb has to say about it--I had never heard of nuts being a problem...
ReplyDelete