For decades, I had “digestive distress” when I ate foods containing Monosodium Glutamate (MSG). A few years ago, this problem extended to foods containing any free glutamate. It had been easy to read labels to keep from eating MSG, but identifying other sources of free glutamate was extremely difficult! I am grateful to the experts at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Australia who published a book about food allergies and intolerances. Their reference and cookbook helped me figure out that I have a food intolerance to glutamate and provided guidance for me to identify foods that I could eat without getting sick.
In the early days of my low glutamate food journey, I ate a few simple foods, repeatedly. One problem was that instead of simply heating frozen processed foods (as I had done for decades), I needed to learn to cook with real foods. Also, my new diet wasn’t well-balanced by any stretch of the imagination. Nutritionists tell us to eat the rainbow, but I was eating white. I needed to figure out what foods were safe to eat and what foods were problematic. To do this, I used a combination of food lists I found on the web and trial-and-error. Sadly, the results were not always appetizing and I was still getting sick more than I liked. I certainly wasn’t thriving. Some might say, I was barely surviving.
Overtime, I’ve learned to cook whole foods from scratch and to incorporate a variety of beneficial anti-inflammatory foods into my diet. I’ve even figured out how to choose or ask for low glutamate options when eating out. Every now and then, I accidentally “get glutamated,” but I’m happy to say that I seldom find myself in “digestive distress” these days.
Through this blog, I hope to help others who have a glutamate intolerance. I’ve spent several years learning about foods I can cook at home and strategies for eating in restaurants. By sharing my experiences, I hope you will quickly reach the point of eating appetizing, nutritious meals without getting sick. My wish is that you too will find yourself thriving on a low glutamate diet.