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After avoiding foods i found i was intolerant to, which included all
grains and dairy, I found I was a *lot* less anxious; a *lot* less
physically tense -- a lot of deep muscle tension went away; I liked people
more, I got more comfort out of being with people, I found myself "doing
the right thing in social situations" without consciously thinking about
it, I had a more accurate perception of what people were feeling rather
than just feeling scared and tense.

my life before avoiding these foods was very emotionally intense.  I just
react to things less emotionally.  I think before i was trying to
compensate consciously to deal in social situations with things i am now
doing unconsciously.

i heard of a recent study in Science magazine, Carl Schwartz et al.  They
studied amygdala activity via MRI i think with inhibited children and
uninhibited children when they met a new person (i think).  The inhibited
children had more activity, their amygdalas were being aroused more.  So
they protected themselves from the new person by being shy and withdrawn,
to avoid the extra stimulation.  That fits so much with my experience
before avoiding my culprit foods.

I wish someone would study amygdala activity in people before and after
food avoidance diets.

Laura

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