Dairy AND soya free - help!

[Honeymoonmummy]

I have various health issues, mainly due to/ following the birth of my DD 6 months ago, including achiness, constipation and PND.

I have just been for an acupuncture session out of desperation and she has asked me to cut out dairy, soya, spicy food and garlic from my diet. She said everything should be organic/ fresh/ no processed ingredients where possible (eg Hellmans mayo is out even though it's DF), she's suggested olive oil on toast/ jacket potatoes and that I have porridge every day. I know I can have rice milk but does anyone have any suggestions please as to what I can eat?

I'm BFing so need to keep the calories up. I've already been DF for 2 months to help my daughters reflux but I've been using soya products A LOT. I was veggie but I started eating fish when I became pregnant and still do. Oh and I'm not keen on most vegetables, especially bell peppers/ courgettes/ aubergines. I lived on quorn but that's out for the same reason as the mayo.

I don't get time to do much cooking/ baking as DD is pretty high-maintenance.
Anyone got any ideas??

so what do you eat normally then?

and why do you have to cut out garlic?

is there any chance you could get a referral to a dietician instead from your GP? I think if you described the problems you've been having plus the restricted diet you've been trying to follow they might agree to refer you... I would be wary of restricting your diet so much while bf, on the advice of an acupuncturist unless you know they're a qualified dietician too. (not that I know anything about acupuncturists btw)

It sounds like you're ahving a tough time at the moment - hope things get easier soon!

I know what you mean cuppachar. I asked my GP to see a dietician for my PND and she said no, it wouldn't help PND.

My DD is seeing a paed dietician soon for her reflux and weaning so I figure they'll have to look at my diet too because I'm BF and I'll run it past them.

Sparkling I eat a lot of quorn with pasta and salad (I don't mind rocket & spinach salad) or quorn ready meals and since I became pregnant a lot of fish too. I do like some veg, I don't mind tomatoes and onions in, say a spag bol and I like mushrooms, spinach and red onion in particular. I was mixing my pasta with mayo tho to make it less dry and am not allowed to have mayo (or quorn) apparently.

What do people do for margarine? She said use olive oil! And do you know a brand of bread I can have in Tesco or Sainsburys?

I use pure spread, I wonder if that would be too processed though and you would be better sticking with olive oil.

Cranks bread which you can sometimes get in sainsburys is soya free.

Tesco do and oatmeal and a wholegrain bread that are soya free in their finest range. M&S is the only place I have found that does a soya free white loaf.

ok half of me was nosy half of me wanted to see if I could come up with an idea when I saw your diet

I am being serious now I have looked into diet V depression etc for a very long time
and there is something you can watch out for.
hydrogenated fat
it's present in lots of everyday things such as cakes and chocolates (mainly cadbury)
it was developed intially to help make things lower in fat, it shortens the fat strands therefore meaning things are apparently lower
however it's side effects are now coming to light
the body CANNOT digest it - at all
so intially your stomach works overtime to get rid causing heartburn reflux indigestion
after it's done that it passes through whole
and sits in huge globules mainly attracting to the stomach and hip area - causing the flobbyness you see so many people carrying about these days
all the time your body is trying to get rid of this it's working extra hard so you are knackered and your mood is lowered.

long term effects are higher cholesteral
obesity and then some.

Many countries have now banned it's use
slowly but surely supermarkets are phasing it out - the basics value et al range across the board now contain none.
the own brand stuff is being phased out
margarine contains a lot and lots of sweets soft ones and caramel esque

if you need any more info you can google hydrogentaed fat - effects

My son is anaphalatic to milk protein so milk free stuff is key for us. But mum is allergic to soya. We use vitalite for margarine because it is both milk free and soya free. we use a mush made of veg carrot, potatoe, leek, swede etc to thicken (can be frozen into ice cubes takes about 3-4 cubes to thicken gravy). We also do a lot of stuff from scratch which we freeze. a favourite is mince, beans (lentils, kidney etc ) No good if veggie but the idea works. get a babysitter for 1-2hours once a week and blitz a few meals that can be stored in a freezer

Okay slightly alarmed by the chocolate news list above. some of us survive on it.

Oh that's great news re the vitalite Frustrated, thanks!

Sparkling, I can't eat cakes and chocolates at the moment with this diet so it's not a problem for me! Thanks though.

You can get gluten, dairy and wheat free chocolates and cakes

the kid loves them. We even got hold of a chocolate bunny this year that was milk free - try Aldi they do a lot of basic that is not too mess about and importantly for us milk free

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8032105.stm

and the FSA begin wohoooooooooooooo!

not just cakes and chocolates it's in everyday foods too like quorn in sausages in pastry chocolate powder some margarines
ready meals
I realise I sound like a nutty crank
but so did Jesus - his followers carry on even now ( and no I'm not religious)

I am wondering why they've asked you to cut out soya? Is it because it's processed?

Most good healthfood shops will have a selection of things that are dairy and soya free. They shouldn't have any goods with hydrogenated fats either (if they're decent). I'm not sure where you are, but even chains like Holland & Barrett should have food for you.

Defnately agree on upping the nuts and seeds in your diet. I'd say to look at the 'good fats' - omega oils 3, 6 and 9. They're really important for supporting whle body and especially brain function. You can buy oil or look at supplements like Udos Oil (blend) or just get flax (aka linseed), hemp or pumpkin seed oil. They have good flavours, but take a little getting used to. Keep them in the fridge and don't cook with them!

Are you meeting other mums? Take care and good luck.

Have you questioned the acupuncturoist's advice or are you determined to give it a go?

I can answer why to cut out both dairy and soya -
soya is a very common allergy and more so in people who have dairy issues.

Not sure why but if they are not sure as to an exact cause you will often be told to cut out both and then test through reintroduction to see which or both you react to.

You are unlucky to react to both.

Apparently they're both "hormonal" and will not only help me with my digestive problems but also DD with her reflux. Pointydog, TBH I didn't understand everything she said but she did make a lot of sense, she knew what some of my symptoms were before I told her. And DD is seeing a paed dietician soon so they'll be able to say if it's wrong.

I'm just sick of not being able to do anything cos of my achey body and the doctor has been pretty useless, it's drugs or counselling and nothing else for the PND, she won't refer me to a dietician as "they won't help with PND" and she I'm on the waiting list for a counsellor, and as for the achiness, "It will go away by 6 months after the birth" - DD is 6 months tomorrow. I have got a referral to physio tho, that starts in about 3 weeks.

I wasn't expecting her to mess with my diet but TBH it couldn't have been worse (you're right Dittany, I don't eat nearly enough fruit and veg, I'm lucky if I have one a day) and as long as I keep my calories up I'm hoping it won't affect the BF.

I'll get to Holland and Barrett sometime, thanks.

ok, you've reached the stage of wanting to give anything a shot. Fair enough. I do hope things get better for you.

Yes Pointydog. You summed up my 10 lines in one sentence. Thanks

Thanks Dittany. I had some pear in my porridge today which a week ago I wouldn't have conceived of doing, so I am changing...slowly

Only just checked back on this thread.... when's your DD's dietician appointment? That will be an ideal opportunity for you to get some more advice. The dieticians I've seen for DD's allergies have been very helpful and would definitely be more than happy to answer questions about my diet as well as DD's. See it as a joint consultation and make sure you ask everything you want to - they'll usually let you phone afterwards if you have further questions too. Good luck, and I hope you get some helpful suggestions from them.