Polly, re:rotating in "allergens"

Lucy · Post by **Lucy** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 11:48 pm

Polly,

How many of your "allergens" do you rotate in after at least 3 days of being off of them?
I know you don't ever do gluten, but what about dairy, etc?

Thus far, I've been amazed at how I've been able to avoid eating any of them, but since the evacuation experience, I'm more concerned that perhaps someday I'll be in a situation in which I may have to make some difficult choices, food-wise. Just don't think it'd be a good idea to get dehydration from food reactions under some of these shortage scenaries. Perhaps the celiac groups need to have written up guidelines for emergency preparedness -- whatcha think?

Yours, Luce

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 6:32 am

Luce,

Basically, I try to avoid all of my intolerances because even eating one every three days makes me feel bloated and gurgly. I would NEVER knowingly ingest gluten or dairy again. Mainly, it's the tomatoes/citrus, although I have tried popcorn, too, with a little success.

Love,

Polly

P.S. Great idea about the emergency preparedness plan!

Magyar · Post by **Magyar** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 12:45 pm

Hi Polly,

Did you say you cannot tolerate chocolate? I'm wondering if I have the same problem. If so, what are your symptoms when you eat chocolate?

Thanks,
Magyar

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 7:14 pm

Hi Magyar and

So glad you found us. It takes a few days of eating chocolate for me to get D - and then it is a dark, dense D that looks almost like melted chocolate in the toilet. Sorry to be so graphic, but you asked. LOL! Also, I feel bloated.

Have you checked out the caveman (paleo) diet? A number of us here are on it with very good results. Basically, it's just plain meats, fowl, seafood, veggies, fruits, eggs (if not intolerant) and nuts/seeds. No grains or anything else that would not have been eaten by our ancestors. The theory is that some of us, particularly with hunter-gatherer ancestors from the British Isles and Europe, are not genetically able to tolerate foods that were introduced late in the evolution of humans. (Humans have been eating grains for less than 0.5% of the time they have existed on this planet).

You might want to check out the wonderful articles that Jean wrote about how to go about an elimination diet to find all of your triggers. Look in the "Information on Diet" forum. Sometimes it is necessary, since there are not lab tests available to test for all food triggers.

What foods have you been tested for and what were the results? What are you now avoiding? Nosy, ain't I?

Love,

Polly

moremuscle · Post by **moremuscle** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 9:36 pm

Hi Magyar,

I am going to jump in here with a little comment on the chocolate intolerance. For a while I thought I was chocolate intolerant until I discovered that I react to the soy licithin in the chocolate. Soy licithin (sometimes just labeled "licithin") is used as an emulsifier in almost all dark chocolates currently on the market. Chocolate that has soy licithin in it gives me the most tremendous uncontrollable D.

Be careful with Lindt's 70% dark Cocoa Chocolate bars - they do not state soy lecithin on the label; however, I and Jean both react strongly to this particular chocolate with raging D.

I have found that Enjoy Life chocolate chips do not set off a reaction in me. Additionally I have found the Hachez brand of dark chocolate (no soy licithin) is good and doesn't make me react. The latter is a German brand and some gourmet shops carry it (locally I get it at the Fresh Market).

Are you soy intolerant?

Love,
Karen

Magyar · Post by **Magyar** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 6:17 am

Hi Polly and MoreMuscle,

I definitely avoid soy, gluten and most dairy (I eat some cheese). I took Dr. Fine's tests and tested negative for intolerance to dairy, yeast and eggs (I wasn't even close to the borderline). However, I didn't think to avoid soy lecithin. I will give that a try.

I followed Elaine Gottschall's Specific Carbohydrate Diet (no grains of any kind) religiously for 9 months. By the end, I felt worse rather than better. So, I'm not sure the paleolithic diet is right for me.

I've also tried probiotics to no avail. I think I must have the most stubborn case of LC on the planet! My next thing is to try flaxseed oil, though I fear it will have a laxative effect.

Thanks,
M

moremuscle · Post by **moremuscle** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 8:34 am

Hi Magyar,

Welcome to the board - it's great you found us; weren't you a member of Sally's board too? I think I remember your name. Are you Hungarian by any chance?

If you have a stubborn case of LC you are not the only one..........
That's a challenge!! I have taken some of Dr. Fine's tests too - it is a great help to know which intolerances we have. Fortunately I tested negative for eggs. I have really come to love eggs as a source of all kinds of things, mostly just the plain pleasure of eating them.
You are lucky to have tested negative for dairy - there are so many choices available to you when you can have dairy. I miss some Brie and Havarti.

I am glad that I could point out the soy licithin problem with chocolate to you - it could be that you can tolerate chocolate after all. Since you are not dairy intolerant you can have milk chocolate as well. Be careful to choose those chocolates that have the fewest ingredients on the list so you are sure what you are getting - try to avoid flavored types.

Reading your post above made me think that perhaps you are corn intolerant - have you tried avoiding corn and corn derivatives while otherwise sticking to your current program? Several in this group of MCers have corn intolerance; I am one.

Don't give up on your stubborn case of MC - it's a challenging puzzle but you have already been at it for so long I am sure you will be able to figure out how to put the last pieces in place. When trying to solve the food intolerance problems don't jump to quick conclusions about what works and what doesn't - sometimes it is one very small thing that is going wrong; everything else is going right. Find that very small thing and VOILA - you can enjoy great health again. Let us know how we can help you get closer to cracking the case.

Love,
Karen

Magyar · Post by **Magyar** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 11:08 am

Hi Karen,
Yes! I am Hungarian. My parents are Hungarian immigrants. Funny that you figured that out.

I avoided corn the entire time (9 months) I was on the SCD and it didn't help. But, I'm willing to give it another try. I also need to be more vigilant about soy. I avoid the obvious sources but haven't been very diligent about reading labels for less-obvious sources. Thanks for the tip on chocolate.

Magyar

moremuscle · Post by **moremuscle** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 8:42 am

Good Morning, Magyar -

Your name was the hint that sent me guessing on your roots. If both of your parents are Hungarian perhaps they taught you how to speak and read Hungarian?

Recently my husband and I bought a book collection from a New York estate. The collection was perhaps from several different estates -we don't know since we bought the books from a New York dealer. One of the estates was that of a prominent member of Mosad (Israeli secret service) - some of the books are dedicated to him directly from the author of the book(s). He was also an anmateur artist himself. Most books are art books but some are also poetry and prose. There are quite a few books about Hungarian artists and also many books written in Hungarian. We are not sure what to do with the books that are writtten in Hungarian. Perhaps we will try to find a market for them on eBay but I have the feeling that most are not likely to find a buyer?! Would you be interested in any of the books? I can send them to you........

I have been to Budapest and traveled by train through the summer landscape of rural Hungary on the way to the beaches of what was once Yugoslavia. This was before the fall of the Berlin wall and the Soviet Empire but Hungary was one of the more open and Western countries in the Soviet Block. Budapest is a stunningly beautiful old city and I have very fond memories from the trip there. I remember eating the wonderful Hungarian Gullash with lots of Paprika.

Love,
Karen

P.S. I think it is a good idea to become more dedicated to your diet in terms of avoiding ALL sources of your triggers - even the microscopic and seemingly inconsequential amounts at the end of the ingredient lists. Our immune systems are capable of detecting even those very small invisible amounts and launch attacks on them which we feel in the form of various MC symptoms.