Day 9: No Whey!

I've followed the GAPS diet, eating my chicken soup as instructed, adding the sauerkraut liquid and one other ingredient: whey. For me this is a huge leap of faith because I haven't had dairy in seven years. Eating even the slightest amount causes days of misery—just not worth it. Dr. Campbell- McBride explains the need for getting our probiotics from food and yoghurt is one of those beneficial products that, those of us with compromised digestive systems, should include on the menu. But she suggests testing for a true milk allergy first and then proceeding with caution. I passed the first test by letting a bit of whey from goat's milk yoghurt dry on my arm. If no rash appeared the next day then it's unlikely there's a strong allergy to dairy. Other tests I've taken in the past have shown the same thing. But I do have a dairy intolerance. Once a few years ago I had some gluten-free pie. The crust, I was told, was also dairy-free, but one bite and my tongue screamed "BUTTER!" I was at a dinner party and couldn't bring myself to spit it in a napkin, so I swallowed, partly curious whether I had gotten over the intolerance after four years of avoiding dairy. The next morning I had my answer. And the next day. And the day after that. One bite sent my gut into a frantic evacuation drill—though this was no drill, it was the real thing. I've since had a healthy fear (if you can call it that) of dairy products lurking in dark cookies and cakes pretending to be benign. So you can imagine how hard it was for me to pour even one tiny teaspoon of whey into my soup. The first day wasn't so bad. Second day: looking promising. Third day: still feeling okay. Whey day four I was gassy and didn't sleep too well. But my optimism said: "It's stress! It's been a crazy week." Happy to believe, I added TWO teaspoonfuls of whey yesterday, day five. Sadly I was up all night with gas cramps. While I won't call the whey test a total failure, I have learned one thing: you can't rush progress. It took decades to get in this sorry shape, it will take more than a week to heal from it. So for now dairy and I are going our separate whey. (Sorry, couldn't resist : ) ). The homemade goat yoghurt in the fridge will get slipped into a smoothie for the dairy eaters in my house. The pizza remains a distant hazy dream.