Elimination diet. Juicer

[Tara]

Hi everyone

Another newbie. I'm sure all you regulars get sick of answering the same questions. I've been reading through the various posts for a few weeks now.

Here's my situation

Have had D every day for at least 11 years. I can't remember for sure when bm's stopped being normal, or if they were ever normal.

I Go at least 3-5 times in am and sometimes through the day. Never any gut pain really.

Was diagnosed with mc after scopes with biopsies in the fall.

Was prescribed an anti-inflammatory. Only took it 2 months, no changes and hate taking meds so stopped and started seeing a homeopath. Tried gluten free and dairy free but no drastic changes (only a week trying. It was before I found your website)

Then I found your site and now realize I wasn't giving my colon enough time to heal.

A week ago this past Monday I started an elimination diet. Chicken, white and sweet potato, and banana. and water and caffeine free tea.

I've stopped white potato this week cuz I think it is bothering me.

So here is my question/problem.

Because the healing can take a long time, when can I start intoducing food to test for reactions. My bm's seem to be getting better. Less frequency, less urgency and a bit less watery but definitely not normal. I've lost weight already since starting and luckily (or maybe not) for me I can't really afford to keep loosing at this rate so I need to get more food options.

I can handle no gluten, no dairy and no soy but really want to add more veggies and fruit if possible without encouraging a reaction. And some spices. I think I read that mcCormicks spices are gluten free.

I wonder about juice. My hubby juices a lot of produce and I think I could use some nutrients. What veggies would you recommend I try. Or should I not at all unless cooked lots?

If someone can recommend some SAFE veggies and fruits (raw or well cooked) it would be greatly appreciated.

Also any experience with juicing - can I drink it? Which fruits and veggies do you suggest?

Thanks

[tex]

Hi Tara,

It sounds as though you are on the right track with your elimination diet." De facto" remission will come long before healing progresses very far. An elimination diet, by definition, is to be continued until remission is attained, and after stable remission has been established for a while, then other foods can be tested, one at a time, always waiting at least 3 days before trying another, in case of a delayed reaction. An elimination diet is not meant to be tasty, or nutritionally balanced — it's designed to bring remission in the shortest possible time. As long as we continue to have D, we really can't reliably determine if any given test food is a problem or not. After we are in remission, then we can test foods and slowly add nutrients back into our diet.

Undiluted coconut milk is very rich in calories, for example, and can be used as the liquid in smoothies, to add safe calories to the diet. Avocados are another source of fat/calories, if you can tolerate them. Be careful with spices — they can sabotage the best of diets. The simpler the better. I like garlic salt myself, but some members cannot tolerate garlic. It's safer to keep it bland, and test spices individually, later.

Quite a few members have used (or are using) juicing to add nutrients to their diet. The fruits most likely to cause problems are citrus fruits (including tomatoes and pineapple). Berries seem to work for many/most members. Some members (including myself) have problems with grapes. Fruits and vegetables can be raw for juicing, but when eaten whole, they should be peeled and overcooked, (to reduce the fiber content and make them easier to digest). Except for bananas, of course, which can be eaten raw (except for a few people who are sensitive to them). Raw iceberg lettuce, for example is probably the most irritating vegetable that we can eat, and when I was still recovering, it was virtually guaranteed to trigger a flare.

It's best to minimize most fruits in the diet, even when overcooked, because of the high fructose and sugar alcohol content. Fructose seems to be poorly digested by most people who have MC, and so it passes into the colon, where it ferments, causing gas and diarrhoea. The sugar alcohols (sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, etc) are poorly digested by everyone, and often cause diarrhoea even in people who have normal digestive systems.

Hopefully, someone else can give you some guidelines on suggested juicing blends, because I never used it when I was recovering.

Tex

[Leah]

HI Tara. You are definitely on the right track with going GF,DF,SF and it seems to be working since things are getting more solid. That's good news. Healing through diet alone ( no drugs) takes time. ...... sometimes a long time. I didn't start testing new things until after 6 months of healing and I was down to one soft BM a day, but everyone is different.

I too had problems with potatoes at first. It probably means you should stay away from all nightshades ( tomato, peppers, eggplant) for now. I have been able to add potatoes back in, but not tomatoes or peppers.

I also felt like I wasn't getting any nutrients. It's tough changing the way you think about food. To ease my mind, I ordered a Gf green drink power and drank one of those a day. Still do. Juicing veggies seems to work for some people here, but like Tex said, fructose is a tough one. I still ( after a year) can only eat a small amount of fruit at one time and can't eat some types at all ( like melon). I am also one of those people who don't tolerate bananas :(

it's a process, but if you think of these first months as healing time, it might make it a little easier to just stick to what is working. You will know when you are ready to test something because you will be feeling so much better!

Good luck
Leah

[CathyMe.]

Hi everyone

Another newbie. I'm sure all you regulars get sick of answering the same questions. I've been reading through the various posts for a few weeks now.

Here's my situation

Have had D every day for at least 11 years. I can't remember for sure when bm's stopped being normal, or if they were ever normal.

I Go at least 3-5 times in am and sometimes through the day. Never any gut pain really.

Was diagnosed with mc after scopes with biopsies in the fall.

Was prescribed an anti-inflammatory. Only took it 2 months, no changes and hate taking meds so stopped and started seeing a homeopath. Tried gluten free and dairy free but no drastic changes (only a week trying. It was before I found your website)

Then I found your site and now realize I wasn't giving my colon enough time to heal.

A week ago this past Monday I started an elimination diet. Chicken, white and sweet potato, and banana. and water and caffeine free tea.

I've stopped white potato this week cuz I think it is bothering me.

So here is my question/problem.

Because the healing can take a long time, when can I start intoducing food to test for reactions. My bm's seem to be getting better. Less frequency, less urgency and a bit less watery but definitely not normal. I've lost weight already since starting and luckily (or maybe not) for me I can't really afford to keep loosing at this rate so I need to get more food options.

I can handle no gluten, no dairy and no soy but really want to add more veggies and fruit if possible without encouraging a reaction. And some spices. I think I read that mcCormicks spices are gluten free.

I wonder about juice. My hubby juices a lot of produce and I think I could use some nutrients. What veggies would you recommend I try. Or should I not at all unless cooked lots?

If someone can recommend some SAFE veggies and fruits (raw or well cooked) it would be greatly appreciated.

Also any experience with juicing - can I drink it? Which fruits and veggies do you suggest?

Thanks

Welcome Tara,
I drink a veggie, protein powder smoothie every day and have for quite some time. I throw in several handfuls of raw spinach and kale, my protein powder, some almond milk, water, ice and some stevia and blend it all up. It is great tasting and I tolerate it well. I have pretty much eliminated all fruits, which was very difficult for me as I used to snack on grapes, apples, bananas, etc. all day long. I seem to tolerate raspberries and blackberries just fine. For the past few days, I have tried a banana for a snack in the afternoon and immediately got major burning in my gut, liquid/watery type sounds and WD, so bananas continue to be out for me! I am going to try apples this week. It is really just a trial and error type thing. Oh, and no worries on the questions....we all have been through it! Good luck to you!

[Leah]

I can now eat apples if they are peeled.

[Leni]

My experience with juicing is that I can DRINK all the fruits and veggies so far with no problems. In my case I think it's because the insoluble fiber is not getting into my body. Our juicesare heavy on apples, kale, carrots, celery,pineapple, bananas, oranges lemons, tomatoes and cucumber. I suspect that in the summer we will be adding berries and watermelon.

[wmonique2]

Tara,

for me when I was limiting myself to very few food choices, I found that juicing was energizing me and giving me strength. I juiced carrots, apples, pears with ginger every morning. sometimes I transferred it all to the blender and made a smoothie with an added banana.

I was never able to juice green vegies like kale etc..they were just wasted in the juicer. You may need a different and more expensive juicer than the one I have.

And every time I want to give myself a break from food for whatever reason, I juice. I still try to juice everyday.

Good luck,

Monique

[Tara]

Thanks guys.

I'm going to try carrot juice this week I think. Then add apple to the juice.

The juicer my hubby has seems to be good. He does spinach and lettuce so will intro that next week I think.

I'm glad I found this site. Just reading through the posts every few days is very helpful and keeps me motivated not to cheat. I can't wait to have more ingredients in my diet so I can play with some recipes.

You guys r wonderful.

Tara

[JeanIrene]

Tara, I juice just about everyday. I find I'm fine with it as long as I don't drink too much at a time and don't drink it too fast. I like pineapple, berries, carrot, celery, sometimes apple, kale, spinach or parsley in smaller amounts.

You're right about the people on this site! They are great.

Jean