First off, the good news. My heart palpitations are now pretty much gone. I can even handle a little maple syrup now without setting them off. I'm starting to wonder if cutting out the corn derivatives was the real key.

Then there's a new question...am I allergic to corn or am I allergic to sulfites? All corn derivatives, from corn starch on down, start with corn in a sulfite hot water bath. As I'm more sensitive to the derivatives than the whole corn (If I'm sensitive to that or not, I don't know)...perhaps it's really a sulfite allergy. All I dare do now during pregnancy is avoid both. I'll have to watch the grapes, I'm not a wine drinker so I don't really get a lot of exposure to sulfites except in processed foods.

So, what do I do to celebrate my lack of palpitations? I totally cheat. Not good, but I had a couple glasses of yummy organic milk yesterday. Of course, I paid the price with an intense but fleeting itch in the back of my throat, then the interesting reactions began. I suddenly started to feel totally pregnant, from stuffy constricted nose (almost had to use a breath-right last night), to heartburn, to leg cramps, to swollen fingers this morning. I hope that's all from the milk, not some coincidental turning point in my pregnancy, because I can avoid the milk...I hope! I had forgotten before I tried a small cup of it that milk can be somewhat addictive, like gluten, casein, if not digested properly, can cause opiates in the blood...according to a study on children with ADD I think it was. Mostly though, it just tasted good. Ah, no more.

Now is when I complain...I've been looking for a cheat I can get away with. I have to be so strict about so many parts of my diet that sometimes I need to let loose. Well, I'm not sure I've found such a cheat yet. So far, there are always consequences. I'll just continue my search for really tasty beneficials and neutrals.