Love Affair with my Diet
Confession. I'm in a committed relationship with my diet and I cheat a lot!
My carefree life came crashing down after I was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition -Rheumatoid Arthritis in 2013. Early-on, I opted out of allopathy and started experimenting with alternatives. Having tried everything under the sun with varying degrees of success (view my Instagram posts for the background story), I now manage my condition with Ayurveda, lifestyle changes, diet, yoga and happy thoughts. Of all these, DIET is The One. It's pretty restricted - there are more don'ts than do's. But, I LOVE my food (and drink) and cheat way too often. When I stick to my diet my pain subsides. I start seeing glimpses of an RA-free life. So, why is it such a struggle? I'm usually so disciplined, why do I always slip in this one area? I try my best and it isn't always enough.
I made this Love Affair/Date With My Diet series so I could share my daily struggles and victories and hopefully through my own experiences educate and inform others of various foods.
If ice cream were the villain it would be so easy because I can totally resist. It's DAIRY that's pure evil.
I can get away with eating dairy once in a while but if I indulge frequently, which I admit I sometimes do, then my joints get inflamed and I'm in pain. Once I get off it completely, my pain reduces drastically. That said, a good sorbet totally hits the spot when I'm craving an ice-cold, sweet something.
Wine isn't alcohol! :)
While I agree you don't need alcohol to have fun it's hard to resist when all your friends are drinking and you're the only one who isn't. So, every now and again, when I feel like a celebration I allow myself a glass of wine (or three!). I just wish I didn’t have to pay such a huge price for having fun.
Going on holiday does not mean a BREAK from my diet.
For a long time, I believed that it’s basically a sin to go to Italy or France and NOT have cheese. I felt no GUILT whatsoever. After all, it’s CHEESE. In time as I became more committed to my diet I started to meet halfway by avoiding soft cheese and only sticking to hard. Lately I’ve been exploring non-cheesy options (cashew or rice cheese), which are pretty yummy too!
I got lucky with Lauki!
Truth be told, I never even considered Lauki before my illness. It was like the boy next door - wholesome, good for you and IGNORED. But after all my alternative treatments featured Lauki in a starring role, I just couldn’t dismiss it any more. During my naturopathy treatment I was allowed nothing but Lauki for breakfast, lunch AND dinner. Can you imagine? I dreamt of the day I’d be free of it! Then one day I realized how much I actually liked it, how good it was for me and I was hooked! I’m more into my Lauki than ever before! It’s my go-to when I’m in the slightest pain and I find that it helps. Plus it barely has any calories, is easy to digest and you can cook it in many different ways. Like in a vegetable dish, Lauki parathas, soup, juice, etc. I was about to start making pasta sauce with Lauki until a very passionate Italian friend of mine lost it!
Finally! Something I LIKE that I’m also ALLOWED to eat.
It’s the perfect option when I’m eating out because most menus have at least one or two interesting salads to choose from. Plus someone or the other at the table is always willing to share, which means we can try a few. Yaaay for salad!
My sugar HIGH is promptly followed by my LOW - Pain!
That's because it triggers inflammation - the root cause of joint pain and muscle ache. And if I'm already in pain, sugar exacerbates AND prolongs it! Avoiding sugar doesn't mean giving up all sweetness in my life though. Instead, I make do with dates, jaggery or raw sugar even.
P.s. Just because something doesn’t taste sweet doesn’t mean there’s no sugar in there. Always check the ingredients especially of pre-packaged food. If you see glucose, fructose, sucrose, etc, they’re all fancy words for sugar.
Don't ask ME to RESIST chocolate!
Early on in my RA journey, I really got into chocolate as a way to make up for ALL the other things I wasn’t allowed any longer. And, then I’d wonder why I was still in pain. Now, I know to blame it on the sugar. I do still like to flirt now and then. While I now understand the importance of moderation, when I'm having irresistible cravings I go for dark chocolate with organic raw sugar.
I always run to Tequila like it's my long lost love.
Which it is. Forget about the hangover, what can you do when your body rejects alcohol completely and you’re in pain for days? It doesn’t matter what the heart desires when every shot hurts.
Ever since I can remember, I’ve LOVED all things sour in taste.
Most people can’t resist dessert. But in my case, sour is a major weakness. I literally lust after it! So, why is it that something you loveeee so much, something you could not imagine your life without, becomes your worst enemy? My sad reality is that sour/pickled/cultured food worsens arthritis symptoms by triggering further inflammation. It’s like poison for my joints!
A mouthful of heaven that’s going to get me into a LOT of trouble!
Just the thought of Pani Puri* makes my mouth water. It’s my fix! Despite how much I love it, Pani Puri, which is loaded with sour tamarind water, isn’t good for my body. But now that I’m a lot better and controlled in my diet overall, I treat myself to Pani Puri once in a couple of months. You should see my face after!
*Hollow, thin and crispy fried dough bowls filled to overflowing with potato/chickpeas and mint chutney and doused in deliciously sour tamarind water.
Mango Pickle versus Suffering? Suffering versus Mango Pickle?
Mango Pickle always wins. Yum, yum, yum AND yum! Sadly, it’s sour, and we know what sour does to my joints (see the post on Sour). Over the years I’ve made peace with having to eliminate a lot of things I love from my diet because they aggravate my RA but when it comes to mango pickle, or for that matter ANY pickle, I just can’t stop myself. It’s like a lover you know is bad for you but it just feels soooo good…
Never ask me to turn my back on Bikaneri Bhujiya*!
The spices, the preservatives and the flour (either chickpea or loaded with gluten) - all its ingredients spell misery for me. But, despite that, it’s my feel-good moment and I NEED it every now and then. In fact, I’m so committed to my Bikaneri Bhujiya that 12 years ago, when I went on a 5-month backpacking trip to South America, I actually slipped a packet into my backpack as an ‘essential item.’ It was worth it - even though I had to lug it around the entire trip. I’m a purist by the way. The Potato Bhujiya, or any of the other varieties out there, never hit the spot. Only the original Haldiram’s Bikaneri Bhujiya will do.
*Crispy snack made of moth beans, chickpea powder and spices.
The soul mate my body hates.
I’ve always, always LOVED my Bhutta. Whether I’m on my way to a dinner party or stuffed after one, if I see (and smell!) roasted Bhutta I WILL stop and have some. I kept ignoring warnings that Bhutta triggers inflammation and could make my joints crazy painful till one day my body rebelled. My pain exploded and I couldn’t get out of bed for 3 days! I’m still so scarred by the experience that even on a cheat day Bhutta won’t figure on the menu. But you know what’s really tragic? Bhutta is truly my one in a million. It has no replacement and no alternative. And, definitely nothing else tastes as good. Sadly it’s Bye bye Bhutta. See you in my next life!
*Bhutta is sweetcorn in Hindi.
There’s no getting away from gluten!!
It’s in all the yummy food I've grown up eating – Samosas, Vada Pav, Croissants and Hakka Noodles to Pizzas, Burgers, Rotis, and more. But, I have no choice. Because gluten triggers - you guessed it! - inflammation and therefore my pain. I’ll admit it was hard to get my head around avoiding gluten. But I finally realised that I had to pretty much stop eating the way I used to and find alternatives for EVERYTHING I liked.
Well, after many years and quite a lot of experimentation, I’ve come to enjoy gluten-free alternatives like jowar, ragi, oats, rice, sourdough, etc. But that said, nothing compares to a crispy croissant with melting chocolate so every once in a while I let myself fall into that gooey trap.
Concept, trial & tribulations, design & illustration by Antima Nahar @antzdoodles
Copy, moral support and devil's advocacy by Deveshe Dutt @suprduprdeva
