Social Distancing, Dodgy Cleaning Products & Inflammation

First of all social distancing is relatively easy for me. I don't have a social life, let alone an active one. On the one hand it's great that I can be myself and generally avoid people the way I always do. On the other hand I wonder if I'm being complacent by not washing my hands after I shop for groceries despite no social interaction. I went to the shop this evening and washed them on return. I had an idea though. I have a box of disposable gloves in the press in the kitchen that I normally use for preparing meat for dinner. I could bring a pair each time I go to the shop and wear them if I don't see any sanitizer facility and dispose of them on the way home. I should try that.

I posted a couple of weeks ago how I had dodgy sinuses and chest the day after cleaning my kitchen. I thought it was because I used too much bleach despite windows open and reasonable ventilation. I gave my toilet a much needed clean this week. Then I bleached the inside of the bowl. The product I use for cleaning is home made. It is vinegar based. I coughed a bit and my breathing felt strange after cleaning the toilet. My first thought was "I hope it's not covid 19" because it can cause respiratory issues. But then my sister posted the photo above on facebook and things started to make sense. The very first one is bleach + vinegar, as you can see. So I won't bleach after using my home made product in future. I'll wait until the next day before using bleach when the bowl is dry.
I was talking about inflammation the past two weeks. It feels like there's something more going on, autoimmune-wise, than just diabetes and coeliac. I've been struggling with back and joint pain and feel like my whole body is inflamed. I'm not going to talk to a doctor about it at the moment because they're probably flat out with treating covid-19. Maybe when all this dies down I'll talk to a doctor about it. I hope my appointment with the diabetic nurse at the end of next month is not cancelled because I want to get my vitamin D levels tested. I reckon low levels is contributing to my back and joint aches. I can get blood tests done there under the medical card. Blood tests by my GP are no longer covered by the medical card. On the issue of vitamin D, when I first went to the coeliac clinic at the out patients in Galway hospital in 2014 my levels were checked, found to be too low and two injections were prescribed. I'd prefer to get two vitamin D injections every year than taking supplements. I wish that was possible because I'm no good for getting into a routine of taking supplements and they're not as effective as injections in my opinion.

More Worrying Than The Corona Virus

This is somewhat of a continuation of last week's post. I felt as though I'd been glutened a number of days ago but couldn't place where, when or even how it happened. So whatever is inflaming my body is what caused it rather than actual gluten. I'm dealing with an issue that I could go to a doctor about but there is so much more to it than the visible aspect. I asked a doctor about it before and didn't get any help really. I'm worried that if I do get to a doctor before the visual symptom disappears they'll only medicate the symptoms rather than listen to me about what's going on with the invisible symptoms and not investigate the real cause and how to treat it. Overthinking leads me to just wait it out and while the issue is there I'm feeling low and worried I could get really depressed.
I'm not worried about the corona virus. If it happens to me I'll deal with it then. I don't give a shit. I'm more worried about the political implications of it and my mental health.
That's all I have today. I wanted to put something up to stay active on the blog. It's a pity it can't be more upbeat.

Inflammation And Possible Food Triggers

This cycle started off ok. My blood sugar readings have been good before breakfast and I can eat a little bit extra at supper to bring my sugars up a bit in time for my long acting insulin to prevent overnight lows. Since I had the cauliflower rice for the last too weeks, I decided to go with cauliflower couscous (pictured) this week. It tasted good, although the pleasure is more in the texture and feel and the crunchiness of the nuts, and it got a good reaction when I posted the picture on Instagram. I'm also having poached chicken breast with it as the couscous on its own is a raw vegan dish. I might post the recipe in a future post. Included in the ingredients are: cauliflower, spices, salt, olive oil, raisins, dried cranberries, almonds and cashews and topped with finely chopped parsley. I had shop bought soup for breakfast, the couscous and chicken for dinner and I prepared bread rolls and grilled pork chops for supper. No cooking after Sunday's meal prep, only heat the soup for breakfast and heat the chicken breast for dinner.
On Monday I spent the day giving my kitchen a much needed cleaning. The floor hadn't been mopped in too long to be honest. I woke up yesterday morning feeling a bit strange. There was a horrible taste in my mouth, almost metallic, and my sinuses were stuffy. After a while I was wondering if I'd used too much bleach in washing the kitchen floor and if it was affecting me. But I had every window in the flat open when I was cleaning so the place was well ventilated. There was quite a breeze outside so plenty air had a chance to circulate. Later on I started feeling little twinges and aches consistent with inflammation. So I suspect that it's the nuts in the couscous I'm reacting to. The cashews and almonds are raw. The cashews in the stir fry the last two weeks were roasted. I remember one time a guy told me he didn't eat cashews because he got stomach cramps from them when they were raw. So I suspect the inflammation symptoms I'm feeling are from the nuts. They're certainly not allowed in the elimination phase of the autoimmune protocol diet so perhaps they trigger inflammation in me as well. I got enough nuts for two batches of the couscous recipe because I had planned to make it next Sunday as well. I still will make it and see how I feel then after the next cycle to see if it's the nuts. It could also be the spices. Not the turmeric but the cinnamon. The other thing about it is that I feel like I've eaten a meal afterwards but I get hungry (not food craving but feeling of an empty stomach hungry) about an hour before I normally have supper. But my blood sugars stay in range, at the lower end but still in range, until I have supper so I won't lower my dinner insulin. If I could get over the inflammation symptoms that dinner would be great for my blood sugar averages.
My tennis elbow has been acting up and I'm kind of feeling it on the other elbow as well. I have to put sudocreme on hives on my legs and my muscles ache from time to time, along with the occasional stomach cramp. It feels like my whole body is inflamed this week. But it's not as bad as it sounds overall. It's just a number of little things niggling at me but they're not stopping me from moving around and getting things done. It'd be nice if I could pinpoint a solution though. I'll struggle on.
Another thing I wanted to speak about briefly is that Becky Excell shared a link to a gluten free pizza base recipe from her Gluten Free Cuppa Tea blog on twitter. I'm seriously considering trying it. If I do I'll probably say how it went on here. Speaking of recipes, I tend to do recipes from others or an adapted version of existing recipes because I don't have the extensive knowledge in that area or the patience to develop my own unique recipes. I tend to do things at a slow relaxed pace so if I'm trying something new, what would take some people a couple of hours would take me most of the day to get right so I feel like time isn't on my side if I wanted to experiment with cooking and developing a recipe.
Note: If you're wondering what I mean by 'cycle', it's how I plan and prepare meals for the week, especially to do me from Sunday to Wednesday. There is a fairly detailed look at it here: https://myautoimmuneblog.blogspot.com/2020/02/meal-planning-and-preparation-fairly.html

Two Recipes, One Meal

Today I'm going to give two recipes that make up a fine filling dinner - chicken stir fry with cauliflower rice. The way I've heaped them on the plate probably doesn't do justice to the meal. I would suggest presenting them as two halves on the plate rather than one on top of the other so that you can see everything that's gone into the dishes. In the photo I have the chicken stir fry on top of the 'rice'. You will have to make two batches of the cauliflower rice to even up the number of servings as one batch only makes two servings. I served mine on a plate but a bowl is also fine.

Fried Rice

2 servings

Ingredients:
1 medium cauliflower head
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp gluten free soy sauce or Bragg's liquid aminos
diced half courgette/zucchini
quarter onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot finely chopped (or half a medium sized or 2 small)
1 crushed garlic clove
2 finely sliced spring onions/scallions to serve

Utensils:
food processor
thin, flexible spatula for stir frying

Method:
Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor to a rice-like texture.
Put the pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan set over a medium heat and toast until browned. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
In the same pan, add the sesame oil, soy sauce, courgette and onion. sauté until the onions have browned. Add the carrot, garlic and cauliflower rice and stir fry until the cauliflower rice has softened, which should take approximately 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and divide between bowls. Top each serving with the pumpkin seeds and spring onions/scallions.

Credit: Plant-based Paleo by Jenna Zoe

Chicken Stir Fry

4 servings as part of a meal with the 'rice'

Notes: To roast raw cashews drizzle them with a small bit of oil and stir to coat, pre heat oven to 175C (350F), put the cashews on a baking sheet and spread out to a single layer, place in the oven for 15 minutes. I usually do this the day before to save time.
You may as well use the toasted sesame oil for this dish if you already have it out for the cauliflower rice. Other than that, any good cooking oil that works well with a high temperature hob setting will do.
Cornstarch probably works better than coconut flour if you can get a safe one but coconut flour is more convenient for me.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp oil
[aromatics]
2 tbsp minced ginger*
quarter tsp pepper
[chicken]
450g (1lb) diced chicken breast
[marinade]
1 tbsp minced garlic
1.5 tsp coconut flour
1 tsp gluten free soy sauce
1 tsp Japanese (because it's normally gluten free) rice wine or dry sherry
0.75 tsp sea or Himalayan salt
[vegetables]
125g (1 cup) sugar snap peas
1 cubed red bell pepper
60g (half cup) whole roasted cashews
[sauce]
60 ml (quarter cup) chicken broth
1 tsp gluten free soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine or sherry

Utensils:
a whisk
a thin, flexible spatula for stir frying
a wok or stir fry pan

Method:
Cut up ingredients as instructed. Place the aromatics on a small plate nearest to the wok. Place the chicken and marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Stir to combine and mix until no dry coconut flour can be seen. Add a teaspoon of oil to the chicken and stir to combine to help prevent the chicken sticking to the wok. Place the bowl next in line to the aromatics. Put the vegetables on a plate, sprinkle with salt and place next in line to the chicken. Whisk together the sauce ingredients in a bowl and place next in line to the vegetables.
Set the hob to high and place the wok on it. After about 30 seconds start flicking droplets of water on the pan to determine when it is hot enough, making sure not to overheat it. As soon as the droplets evaporate within 1 to 2 seconds of contact the wok is hot enough.
Pick up the wok from the hob and swirl 1 tablespoon of the oil around it to coat the bottom and sides.
Put the wok back on the hob and add the aromatics. Stir the aromatics for 10 seconds or until fragrant.
Push the aromatics up the sides of the wok. Carefully add the chicken and spread evenly in one layer at the base of the wok. It should sizzle on contact. If it doesn't the wok was not hot enough.
Cook the chicken undisturbed for about a minute, allowing it to sear.
Stir fry the chicken constantly for about another minute and mix with the aromatics, or until the chicken is lightly browned but not yet cooked through.
Swirl the remaining tablespoon of oil into the wok and add the vegetables.
Stir fry for about a minute more.
Pour the sauce in around the sides of the wok instead of the centre to prevent cooling the pan and lowering the cooking temperature. Stir fry for about a further minute or until the chicken is just cooked through.

*See the tip in this post to speed things up with the ginger:
https://myautoimmuneblog.blogspot.com/2019/12/chicken-ratatouille-with-twist.html

Credit: This is my adaptation of a recipe I found on a website called "the kitchn".

Meal Planning and Preparation - A Fairly Detailed Look

I wasn't sure what I was going to write about today before I sat down to write. But I thought I could kind of continue on the theme from last week in a way. I can talk about meal planning and preparation. I read through last week's post and it's not a direct continuation but it can be the next step on from that.
The job I was in last year was part-time from Monday to Wednesday so I planned and prepared my meals to eliminate as much preparation and cooking time as possible on those days. I continued that trend after I finished that job to give myself time for other things, such as this blog. I switched lunch to supper and moved dinner from the evening to the afternoon when I finished that job. On Saturday I plan my meals for the next four days and make a shopping list. I have an app on my phone called Google Keep that you can use for notes and lists. I have a long list of groceries that I can tick and untick as needed on the app so I don't have to write a list every week. I decide what I'm going to do for my main meals and have "fruit" on the list. I usually decide on the way to the shop or in the shop what fruit that will be. I try to vary the fruit every week. Breakfast is usually soup (usually shop bought but home made when I can) with SuperValu gluten free bread (easiest to tolerate because no dairy and best value for money), Pure brand alternative to butter or dairy spread (no dairy or gluten) and Violife "cheese" (again, no dairy or gluten). I normally have the fruit mid to late morning between breakfast and dinner. I normally use recipes from The Paleo Diet Cookbook, Plant-based Paleo and The Healthy Gut Cookbook when planning dinners and the ingredients from that, that I wouldn't have left in the kitchen, go on the list. Sometimes the recipe is a meal in itself and sometimes I mix a vegetable dish from one book with a meat dish from another. I have a few individual recipes from online that are printed out as well. This week, for example, I used a chicken stir-fry recipe from online with a cauliflower rice recipe from Plant-based Paleo as one meal. I try to make supper quick & easy. Normally SuperValu bread rolls with Pure spread, Violife "cheese" slices and baby spinach or lettuce and something like a pork chop or a turkey stake for meat. Occasionally though I'll have gluten free sausages with black puddings and white puddings. Once I have the list done I do my grocery shopping.
On Sunday I prepare and cook four portions of each meal before mealtimes. I have one for that particular meal and store the extra portions in tupperware in the fridge for the next few days. Two reasons for four portions: 1) most of the recipes in the cookbooks are for four servings and 2) I'm prepping and cooking on Sunday so that I wouldn't have to Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Typically, it's only the soup I'd warm before eating from Monday to Wednesday. I don't bother to heat the other meals as they're already cooked and I want to save time. It's easy for me to do things this way because I'm single and living alone. It would be more complicated doing this with a partner and/or family to think about.
If I've nothing for a Thursday breakfast on Wednesday evening I'll go to the shop for something. Otherwise I might have something left over that I can rustle up a quick breakfast with. I generally don't plan meals as much from Thursday to Saturday but some planning does go into them. Instead of a proper dinner on Thursdays, I find I snack when I'm out and about doing grocery shopping for the rest of the week. Sometimes I might treat myself to eating out for lunch if the finances allow for it. I get something quick and easy for suppers from Thursday to Saturday.  I didn't tell my dietitian the last day that I normally get gluten free pizzas for Friday and Saturday breakfast because she wouldn't approve. I don't recommend it for everyone. I normally go to yoga on one of those days (usually Friday) and it's a twenty minute walk to the class so that's my justification for it. Dinner is something easy to rustle up. Typically canned fish and baby spinach which don't require any cooking and a large sweet potato and a root vegetable which can be steamed in ten minutes on two layers of the same steamer pot. This way I'm doing proper cooking only one or two days a week and heating or steaming one or two items other days, cutting down on my cooking time considerably.
My budget has improved a bit too because I'm not buying quick and easy packaged and processed foods every day for meals. But I have something coming up this weekend which means I'll be away Saturday and most of Sunday. I'll have to plan around that and perhaps look at quick and easy alternatives for food next week as a result. I have gotten into a good routine with planning and meal prep but I won't let the disruption of it next week bother me. I'll just get back to it again the following week. I hope this can help and give ideas to anyone who's struggling to find the time to cook proper meals and might not be eating healthily because of it. Just work on planning and preparing meals, get into a routine so that it feels normal and don't let it get you down if the routine is disrupted. Just get back into the routine at the start of the next cycle.
It turns out I wrote a lot after not being sure what to write about before I sat down.

Adapting To Coeliac Disease

I haven't talked much about coeliac disease on the blog lately. But a recent post on the facebook group Coeliac Experiences prompted me to do it today. Someone new to the group had just found out they were coeliac and was looking for advice on adapting to a gluten free diet. So I commented my advice which I'll give here also, but in a bit more detail.
First of all, when you receive a positive blood test, you need to keep eating as you normally would as much as possible until your biopsy so that you don't receive a false negative and end up being diagnosed with a gluten allergy or gluten intolerance rather than full on coeliac disease. Once the diagnosis is confirmed you'll get medical advice and should get an appointment with a dietitian. You need to avoid cross contamination and become a very picky eater, especially if you're living with non-coeliacs. Make sure you have utensils and food prep space separate from others. Clean utensils and prep area before and after preparing food if you're around non-coeliacs. In my experience, the best thing you can do is try to eat unprocessed fruit, vegetables and meat and avoid processed food as much as possible. It's not always easy to do that but nowadays there are plenty of gluten free alternatives to what would be classed as "normal" foods (bread, cereal etc.) but the portions are smaller and the prices are higher. Stay away from anything that has oats in it even if it's labelled gluten free. A coeliac gut cannot handle oats until it is fully healed and then only gradually introduce so-called "gluten free" oats to see if you can tolerate them. Most coeliacs cannot handle oats at all, I'm told. I'm one of them. I don't eat oats. Gut healing can take from six months to a year even without accidental ingestion or cross contamination.
I would advise trying to avoid all grains including corn (maize), sorghum, millet and even rice to help the gut heal and then a gradual reintroduction to see what can and can't be tolerated. Grains have cross reactive proteins similar to the gluten proteins in the grains we coeliacs have to avoid. One of the biggest helps to me from Coeliac Experiences facebook group was when I felt like I'd been glutened but couldn't figure out how and someone suggested that it sounded like a sugar overload to them. That was a revelation and started me using the group as my coeliac support group. Basically too much sugary foods inflame the gut to the point where you think you got glutened even if you didn't.
That's another thing you should do. Get yourself a into support group, whether it be an online one or physically meeting up with other coeliacs. You can build up experience dealing with it and all help each other out with advice from shared experiences. Then you'll cope almost as if you haven't got the disease at all when you get used to it. A support group will make that process easier and quicker.
Another big help for me was giving up dairy. Coeliacs are lactose intolerant in the early stages and the proteins in dairy are sticky like gluten producing a slight inflammatory reaction as well - known as cross reactivity, which I mentioned with grains earlier. Dietitians in Ireland, in my experience, will tell you that you need dairy for calcium but we are actually biologically evolved to live without dairy after we've been weaned. Cruciferous, leafy green vegetables are a good source of calcium. There is a little bit of dairy in my diet because certain foods might have a minor dairy ingredient but I don't drink milk or eat things like ice cream or cheese. I have a low dairy tolerance as long as I'm not eating specifically dairy products. I use ghee alright in cooking sometimes but that's mainly the fat from butter with the protein and sugar mostly eliminated. The fat is ok as part of a healthy diet. It's the protein and sugar (lactose) that are tough on the gut. Anyway, like other stuff, eliminate it early and when you start to feel better reintroduce it gradually. If, as with other reintroductions, you find you can't tolerate it even after a healed gut just leave it out and look for a healthy alternative if you can.
I should stress that when you are shopping for food you need to read the ingredients and labels of EVERY packaged food you get BEFORE purchasing them. A "free from" aisle in a shop or supermarket doesn't necessarily mean gluten free. It can also have food that is dairy free or sugar free yet still be harmful to coeliacs because of containing grains or being cross contaminated at the place it's produced. I bought a product one time, read the ingredients and allergens before purchase and there was nothing unsafe listed. I got home and read the rest of the label and noticed something on the opposite end of the label to the ingredients and allergens. It said it was produced in an area that handles grains containing gluten. Luckily I didn't open the product so I was able to take it back and get a refund. If it doesn't say gluten free on the packet it's best not to buy it. If in doubt, leave it out!
Don't eat out until you've got used to a gluten free diet. Then research places and ask for advice from other coeliacs before you eat out. Eventually you'll have a few trustworthy places that you can go to with friends. A smart establishment knows that if a group of people contains a coeliac and went to their place, it's most likely the coeliac that chose their place because it's safe. It's good business for them to attract as many customers as possible, so they do well to cater for coeliacs.
It's a lot to take in but if you stick with it you'll be a lot healthier and living a normal life in a relatively short time. You'll get used to it and get into a routine of knowing what you can and can't eat. Eventually the only times you'll be conscious of it is when you're grocery shopping, around other people with food, eating out and discussing your health with a medical professional. You'll be doing everything as normal apart from that. Coeliac disease is controlled by diet and lifestyle. You don't have to take any medication for it. So, as autoimmune diseases go, it's not the worst one to get. One more piece of advice before I go. Try to focus on what you can eat as much as possible to try and avoid getting overwhelmed by what can't eat.