FIFTEEN years. It’s been fifteen years since I have been able to eat my beloved egg yolks. And you poor folks have had to listen to me kvetch about it. But I knew in my gut, that no matter how much I missed eggs, it wasn’t the time to test them. You see, while I had fond memories of many eggy delights, if I actually thought of eating an egg that minute a huge wave of nausea would overwhelm me.
What did eggs do to me? Not pretty things. Immediate stuffed nose, followed by a headache, distended belly, a pound weight gain and often a headache or even a migraine! So when you have symptoms like that, it’s a no brainer. Lose the eggs.
Last week I thought about testing eggs, specifically the yolks, my true love…no nausea. Hmmmmmm….But I waited. I was not looking forward to feeling ill. But yesterday Bill and I went to a cute little organic chain here, Le Pain Quotidien. Great breads, organic eggs….soft poached. I knew this was my chance. So I jumped on it, I ordered two eggs, and even though they came with bread (bread and eggs is a REALLY tough test to pass), I went for it. Cracking open the egg, I scooped out that gorgeous orange yolk. I closed my eyes and ate it. I waited for the stomach pain. None. Bill was watching me with eyes wide open. We barely breathed for two minutes. I slathered my bread with loads of butter and had the second egg, dipping the bread in the yolk. Sheer heaven. No symptoms, I felt great! Sure enough on today’s weigh in there was no reactive response, no histamine related weight gain.
I’m going to proceed cautiously and just have eggs for dinner once a week. It’s funny, it was like a really bad break up and now that we’re friends again, I’m going to take baby steps in our relationship. But it’s always nice to know, that the foods you love, may be reactive for awhile, like wheat was for me and is now FINE. But they can, and will come back ,if you listen to your body and let it heal.
To learn more about food, inflammation and how to find the foods that work for your chemistry, read The Plan, The New York Times bestseller or visit www.lyngenet.com.