Eating Clean 2014

So remember how last year Hubs and I completely revamped how we ate?  Well, it's Eating Clean on steroids for 2014!  Poor Hubs has suffered for years with really bad skin...he has excema so bad that his skin is thick in spots and is red, raw and cracks and bleeds on a regular basis.  It gets particularly bad on his neck and face, and I always feel so awful for him because it keeps him up at night and I can hear him scritchscritchscritch-ing.  Last year he had a bout that was so bad that it looked like open skin, and no amount of creams, lotions or cortisone seemed to help.  Knowing how much food sensitivity testing helped me, I suggested that he go to my naturopath and get himself tested.  One thing that my naturopath had said to me that really stuck with me was that if my skin was irritated on the outside, could you imagine what was happening on my insides.

So what were the results?  Well, I'm glad that we'd already changed our diet quite a bit because the changes, if we had to make them cold turkey, probably would have been pretty difficult.  Here is the list of things he shouldn't eat:

Nuts
Soy
Wheat (gluten specifically)
Eggs (super bad for him)
Dairy
Cranberries
Pineapple
Garlic
Sunflower seeds
Sesame seeds

At first I was like, what can he eat?!  And garlic, the best thing on earth?  I could almost hear my heart shattering in my little garlic infused chest.  Basically the naturopath said paleo...fruits, veggies and meat, but Hubs also had high cholesterol and triglycerides, and cutting back on meat, dairy and eggs over the past while brought his numbers to well within normal range.  Argh.  What to do, what to do...after doing a little research, I realized there is still a lot of things he can still eat...grains like amaranth, buckwheat and oats are still OK (even though he has to be careful with oats), fish is good and beans are still a go.  So basically what this means is that our diet is going to be pretty darn healthy...it's going to be mostly fish, beans, tons of fruits and veggies, some whole grains/seeds like quinoa and amaranth and some very lean poultry occasionally (chicken or turkey breast).  Basically we were already egg and dairy free (except for some cheats during the holidays, oops), so it is mostly a case of taking out wheat, nuts and soy, which was a fairly large portion of our diet and significant source of our protein. 

While this may sound really restrictive, I'm actually kind of excited about it.  Firstly, because I want to get Hubs' skin under control, and I think he could really feel amazing once we get rid of a lot of the inflammation that these foods are causing.  He's tired a lot too, so I'm sure that taking these things out of his diet, at least for a little while, will really help.  I love to see physical changes as a result of a healthy lifestyle change, and Hubs' is all gung ho and wants to make these changes too.  He's such a trooper!  Secondly, I'm happy to eat better as well and this will really force me to stick with the egg and dairy free thing to support Hubs.  It's easy to cheat when it's just me, but when it's the both of us holding each other accountable, I feel bad.  The last month has been more egg and dairy laden than I'd like, and I can really see and feel the difference.  But the best part is that our diet will be even less processed, which is awesome! 

So there you go...we're doing this for three months and seeing what happens with Hubs, and will at that time also get his cholesterol and blood sugars tested to make sure we're still on track in that regard as well.  Hubs is also taking a probiotic and some other supplements recommended by our naturopath...we're starting this new regiment on Sunday.  For some reason, I have to start stuff like this at the beginning of the week.  Weird, I know.  Ha!

Eat Clean 2014, here we come!