I am finally over being ill with bronchitis I had for over a month. I had a virus that settled in my lungs and just wouldn’t let go. I had the same thing happen last winter. So I started thinking — what is going on? I spoke to someone the other day who has a lot of sensitivities and allergies, and apparently as a result she gets asthma.

So I started wondering if that is what is going on with me? i.e., with all this lung congestion I have had complicating yet another virus–this time in the summer and not the dead of winter. And if so, what might be bothering me so much despite my already extensive food restrictions. After all for several years I have had a chronic nasal congestion and what I call the “itchy bitchies” in my left ear plus on my bottom despite being off all gluten and milk plus eating a relatively low histamine diet.

Long ago a naturopath suggested I might have fructose malabsorption. He determined this through muscle testing. I chose to ignore this information however since I loved my bananas, papayas and apples etc. and thought what he said was nonsense. Since then I found I have severe gluten intolerance plus histamine sensitivity. So I no longer eat papayas or bananas for instance nor other fruits like pineapple or even tomatoes. However I have loved my apples and recently cantaloupe. But my continuing health issues have pointed to yet more underlying problems. So the thought finally occurred to me, maybe that doctor from long ago was right?

So finally I tried going off the apples and cantaloupe the other day just to see if it would help. I had become really inflamed down under and thought I need to do something! I already have been eating a pretty restricted diet due to being ill after all–so it was a perfect time to test out my theory. My only excess was the fruit, which I noticed was giving me a special zing–which for me is a big clue that I could be sensitive to it.

Amazingly I almost immediately found going off high fructose foods is really helping my skin in my ear and bottom to heal! Plus finally I can breathe through both nostrils at once too, something I have not been able to do for forever due to chronic nasal congestion. And yes my lungs suddenly healed!!

In so doing, however, last night and then this morning I tried out eating organic white jasmine rice, which is very low fructose and recommended for those on a low fructose or even a low Fodmap diet. Unfortunately as a result my belly now looks like I am pregnant! Plus the scale says I gained 6 pounds just like that! And to tell the truth today I have been very sleepy and groggy. So clearly white rice is out for me. I kind of suspected rice as a culprit anyway, but now I know for certain. I may have that somewhat rare condition of having an actual rice allergy. In the past I chalked it up to candida overgrowth, however tests say I never had it.

So back to rutabagas and zucchini with some butternut squash on occasion for my starch!

As far as grains go, I don’t have much hope. Though to be certain, I want to investigate and see if sorghum flour is OK for me or not. I cross my fingers. I already know I have a problem with buckwheat. Whether or not my past reactions to millet and teff flour are true or not I don’t know. Maybe the fructose was really the problem?? I have yet to experiment with any of them again as yet. I would hate to not be able to use any of my many yummy alternative grain recipes. However if I have to go completely grain free in order to feel a lot better, I will.