This morning I went through my house and cleaned out all the products that contain salicylates. It was a difficult chore. I had no idea how many things could potentially have salicylates in them – toothpaste, soap, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, razors (the one’s with aloe strips), lotions, makeup, dish washing detergent, etc, etc, etc. But sadly, my body wash didn’t help me out by just yelling “I have Salicylate in me.” Things aren’t clearly labeled; they use long funny words that I’m not familiar with, and sometimes they don’t even list all ingredients (instead they cheat and just say fragrance, or flavoring, or some other BS like that). Needless to say it was a long morning.
After cleaning everything out I was left with literally nothing in my bathroom that I could still use. So, my husband and I went shopping. Before going I devoured any bit of information I could find as to what different terms are used for Salicylate and what products are fairly free of them. The Sal-Free Centre from the Guai-Support Group was very helpful, though they aren’t as strict on salicylates as I feel I should be at this time. They do have excellent resources for finding products that are free of salicylates (or at least low in them). I ended up finding shampoo and conditioner, soap, face soap and deodorant that looked to be ok (we’ll see…). But, we were unable to find an appropriate toothpaste – I guess for now it’ll be baking soda for me. Oh well.
After shopping we came back and made our first Salicylate free meal together. Iceberg lettuce wraps – a recipe I made up from the few things I can actually eat. They turned out really well – although not quite as flavorful as we’re used to. I also attempted to make Salicylate free cookies. I made basic sugar cookies and just left out the vanilla (I haven’t been able to determine if vanilla is ok or not, some sites/lists say it’s fine others say it’s not, others say it’s just vanilla essence which is bad…for now I’m avoiding it, although it’ll probably be the first thing I add back in to my diet). The cookies turned out pretty good. They were slightly denser then normal and not quite as sweet, but it was a nice treat after a long day trying to figure out this whole Salicylate thing. Sometimes I just wish I knew someone else who had already gone down this path….but I guess that’s why I’m writing this…so that some one else won’t have to feel like me…hopefully they will be able to gain from my journey of elimination.
Health to you and yours -
Beth
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Day 1 of Salicylate Elimination Diet
This morning I went through my house and cleaned out all the products that contain salicylates. It was a difficult chore. I had no idea how many things could potentially have salicylates in them – toothpaste, soap, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, razors (the one’s with aloe strips), lotions, makeup, dish washing detergent, etc, etc, etc. But sadly, my body wash didn’t help me out by just yelling “I have Salicylate in me.” Things aren’t clearly labeled; they use long funny words that I’m not familiar with, and sometimes they don’t even list all ingredients (instead they cheat and just say fragrance, or flavoring, or some other BS like that). Needless to say it was a long morning.
After cleaning everything out I was left with literally nothing in my bathroom that I could still use. So, my husband and I went shopping. Before going I devoured any bit of information I could find as to what different terms are used for Salicylate and what products are fairly free of them. The Sal-Free Centre from the Guai-Support Group was very helpful, though they aren’t as strict on salicylates as I feel I should be at this time. They do have excellent resources for finding products that are free of salicylates (or at least low in them). I ended up finding shampoo and conditioner, soap, face soap and deodorant that looked to be ok (we’ll see…). But, we were unable to find an appropriate toothpaste – I guess for now it’ll be baking soda for me. Oh well.
After shopping we came back and made our first Salicylate free meal together. Iceberg lettuce wraps – a recipe I made up from the few things I can actually eat. They turned out really well – although not quite as flavorful as we’re used to. I also attempted to make Salicylate free cookies. I made basic sugar cookies and just left out the vanilla (I haven’t been able to determine if vanilla is ok or not, some sites/lists say it’s fine others say it’s not, others say it’s just vanilla essence which is bad…for now I’m avoiding it, although it’ll probably be the first thing I add back in to my diet). The cookies turned out pretty good. They were slightly denser then normal and not quite as sweet, but it was a nice treat after a long day trying to figure out this whole Salicylate thing. Sometimes I just wish I knew someone else who had already gone down this path….but I guess that’s why I’m writing this…so that some one else won’t have to feel like me…hopefully they will be able to gain from my journey of elimination.
Health to you and yours -
Beth