I am a newbie! Enterolab results!

[tex]

Some diets have meat 3 x day, but with my meat sensitivities, what do I do? Rotate beef 3 x in one day then move to turkey 3 x the next day, pork 3 x the next, etc?

Yes, eat a food as many times as you want in one day, and then skip 2 days before eating it again on the 3rd day.

I am usually a cheerful person even when not feeling well, but have been very depressed since getting the list from Enterolab.

That's why EnteroLab recommends that you ease into the diet changes slowly, so as to minimize the risk of feeling overwhelmed or depressed.

I agree with Linda that up front at least, you can certainly continue to eat any 1+ foods, and probably most of your 2+ foods (unless you determine that they are causing problems). You can tighten your diet later, if remission seems elusive. I notice that while corn is on the 2+ list, it's the least reactive grain, so that should make it relatively low risk also, especially in a rotation program. Corn chips (or tortilla chips) and tortillas can be used with nut butters, for example.

I believe that a few members make kale chips that might work for nut butters, and there are surely other options. I used to love peanut butter on apples (back before MC), but alas, I can no longer tolerate peanut butter (or any other nut butter, for that matter). Nut butters on bananas are not half-bad either, if you can eat bananas.

Tex

[Gloria]

Some diets have meat 3 x day, but with my meat sensitivities, what do I do? Rotate beef 3 x in one day then move to turkey 3 x the next day, pork 3 x the next, etc?

Yes, that is exactly what you do. The dietitian who helped me with the MRT Leap diet told me that I could eat a meat from the prior day in the morning and it would still count as rotating it. I do that with my pork. I have cereal for breakfast in the morning on my pork day. I eat pork for lunch and dinner that day, but the next morning (my lamb day), I eat pork sausage with my fried polenta. Then for lunch and dinner, I eat lamb. It helps to break up the monotony of eating the same meat in one day. On my turkey day, I do eat turkey sausage for breakfast, lunch and dinner because it isn't the only ingredient in the turkey soup I eat at lunch.

You do have a challenging list, but I think you can come up with some variety of meals. You can eat potatoes and they can be served in a number of ways.

I haven't had the panel C testing done at Enterolab and it's interesting to me that the only vegetable they seem to test is potato. Vegetables is one of my biggest intolerance groups, along with grains.

Since it appears that you haven't been tested for any vegetables, I would stick with potatoes for a week and rotate the meats/fish that agree with you. If they seem OK and you're doing better, you can start with some vegetables that most people tolerate, like carrots.

Your feelings are perfectly normal right now, but you will eventually get used to your new way of eating and it will become second nature. It won't be the same, but you'll feel better and will be healthier.

Gloria

[Leah]

Hi Gloria. I am going out on a limb by saying this, but I believe that they don't test for vegetables because they don't bring on an IgA response. The reason we can't eat certain veggies is probably due to fiber and/or sugars. Potato isn't a vegetable. It's a starch and is a nightshade. Nightshades ( tomato, eggplant, peppers...etc) are known for bringing on inflammation.
Leah

[tex]

Leah,

You're right on target. With one exception, autoimmune-type reactions only occur in response to certain proteins, and most vegetables are definitely not sources of protein. In the case of nightshades (in addition to the fiber), the reactions can also be directed against alkaloids, such as the solanine in potatoes.

In case anyone is wondering what the exception that I mentioned above might be, it's a sensitivity (actually an allergy) to a specific carbohydrate found in all meat except meat from monkeys, the great apes, and humans. It's a rather rare condition, known as Mammalian Meat Allergy, and the symptoms are delayed allergic reactions, severe hives, delayed anaphylaxis, and severe GI symptoms. It typically makes people sick several hours after eating the meat (rather than immediately, as is the case with most allergies).

Tex

[Gloria]

Hi Gloria. I am going out on a limb by saying this, but I believe that they don't test for vegetables because they don't bring on an IgA response. The reason we can't eat certain veggies is probably due to fiber and/or sugars. Potato isn't a vegetable. It's a starch and is a nightshade. Nightshades ( tomato, eggplant, peppers...etc) are known for bringing on inflammation.

I agree with the lack of IgA response, but I'm not sure that the reason we can't eat certain veggies is due to fiber and/or sugars. I can eat two pretty fibrous vegetables (cauliflower and Brussels sprouts), but can't eat any others, and I have tried many. I suspect that part of the reason I've had a problem for so many years was due to eating asparagus. I stopped eating all three of my vegetables two years ago for a few days after I flared a few months after going off Entocort. When I got a little better, I was disgusted because I realized that not only could I not eat any fruit, I also couldn't eat any vegetables. And that's after I had given up everything else but meat. That's when I went back on Entocort.

Also, I'm pretty amazed that I can eat mango, a pretty fibrous fruit, and now, apparently, rhubarb and sour cherry. They are all low in fructose, as I've noted in another thread, and like you, I have felt that I have a problem with fructose. But if fructose is my problem, why can't I eat more vegetables? What's interesting to me is that you feel that you have a fructose problem, yet you are able to eat many more vegetables than I can. So what type of problem do we each have?

I do know that potatoes are a nightshade, of course and nightshades are notorious for bringing on inflammation.

[JFR]

I believe that a few members make kale chips that might work for nut butters, and there are surely other options. I used to love peanut butter on apples (back before MC), but alas, I can no longer tolerate peanut butter (or any other nut butter, for that matter). Nut butters on bananas are not half-bad either, if you can eat bananas.

Tex

I'm afraid kale chips are just too fragile to support nut butters. I eat nut butter straight from the jar or bowl. The only meat I tested +1 for was pork which I have continued to eat. All the others were +2 or +3 so I eliminated them. I do eat lamb and turkey as well as cod an haddock. I have had venison and duck without trouble as well. Once you get over the shock of the results all there really is to do is accept the reality and figure out what you need to do. It really isn't as hard as it may initially appear. One thing I try to do is to turn things around cognitively/emotionally so that what can seem like despair over the necessary deprivations becomes gratitude for the knowledge of what needs to be done. It really does help.

Jean

[sharonbelterday]

Would you suggest I just eat a low fiber Paleo diet with rotations of both the types of meat and nuts? I think carrots and summer and winter squashes are the first cooked veggies you are supposed to try, but don't know where to go from there.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet recommends no grains because of difficulty of the digestive system of MC patients to process complex carbohydrates. Tex, what is your take on this? I remember you said something in your book about the SCD diet, that it was not always appropriate for MC but can't remember why.

And what would you suggest for breakfast? Homemade coconut milk yogurt? Can you advise me on what fruits are low fiber besides banana? I made a huge mistake on Saturday trying a hemp protein powder for breakfast with coconut milk and banana, resulting in watery diarrhea for 11 hours. I think it was the fiber in the hemp protein. I really don't want to eat meat 3 x per day, especially with the immunological responses to the types of meat. I am still confused about the rotation diet. Do you eat beef, for example, for breakfast, lunch and dinner on the same day, then the next day do a different meat all day? Or, is it better to rotate different meats, or only eat the meat on your sensitivity list one time per day?

A potty question...do you wait until you have a "norman" before adding a new food? I haven't had one since December 2012! I don't know how to tell if I am reacting to an "added" food if I am not having normans anyway...

Thanks for your advice!
Sharon

[sharonbelterday]

Whoops, didn't see your responses to meat 3 x day question previously asked.

That certainly clarifies that I can eat meat 3 x day...Thanks!

I would welcome a response to the other questions, though, and another one (lol)...what about legumes?

Thanks again.

You are helping me feel not so alone in this. I kind of feel like a freak when trying to eat with others...

[sharonbelterday]

Idubois, here is the recipe I found on a SCD site. Haven't tried it yet, but probably will tomorrow.

By the way, have you found an inexpensive source for finding the unsweetened coconut? (Like we found the almond flour in bulk). How do you make your milk? I will let you know how the yogurt comes out. I have the Yogourmet yogurt maker...

COCONUT MILK yogurt

5 cups of organic dried shredded coconut
8 cups of water
1 Tbs and 1 tsp of organic gelatin
1 Tbs honey
Yogurt starter

Place coconut in a large pot.
Add water and bring to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool to room temp.
In batches blend/food process for 3 minutes and strain thru nut milk bag into
large measuring cup or bowl.
In a separate bowl, dissolve gelatin and honey in a half cup of coconut milk.
Add yogurt starter. Mix well.
Add starter-gelatin mix to the rest of the coconut milk.
Mix well and decant into yogurt containers.
Ferment for 10 hours in yogurt maker or dehydrator at 110 degrees.
Refrigerate for 6 hours

It will separate but once it has chilled a bit but before solid, you can shake it up and
it will stay a smooth texture.

[Leah]

Sharon, Legumes are probably not a good idea right now. Two reasons . The first being that they are related to soy and your body could "see" it as soy and react thus. And it has way too much fiber.

Fruit is a tricky thing because the fructose usually isn't broken down properly when out guts are inflamed. That means it ends up not being absorbed into the small intestine ( where it should be) and gets into the large intestine and ferments. That causes problems. After two years, I still can't tolerate much fruit. Some of us can get away with a peeled apple. I can do about half an apple.

Yes, you should wait to add things until you have healed and can tell what you are reacting to. This whole process takes time and adding things in is something you can start thinking about down the road ( maybe 6 months) or so. We're all different, so it's hard to say, but you will know when you are feeling better and ready to test something. While you are still having consistent D is NOT the time. Healing is all you should be thinking about right now. Eat as simply as possible.

PS I eat protein 3x per day. It helps with the healing :)
Leah

[tex]

Sharon,

The primary problem with the original SCD is the use of cow's milk in yogurt. Most of us can't handle any dairy products because we produce antibodies to casein.

Non-dairy yogurts get around that issue, but they still present a problem for those of us who have mast cell activation disorder (MCAD) and/or problems with histamines (all fermented products are high in histamines).

Leah is quite correct of course — it's virtually impossible to reliably determine whether we react to a test food, if we are already reacting to something else.

That's what confounds so many people who stop eating gluten for a while, and when the D continues, they assume that gluten is not a problem, so they add it back into their diet and experiment with avoiding some other food. Wrong, wrong, wrong! They will never be able to determine their food sensitivities that way, because their diet will always include at least one food that perpetuates the reaction.

Tex

[ldubois7]

Sharon,

Thanks for the yogurt recipe! I will try it as soon as I think my body is ready for it. I really miss it!

The coconut that I use is from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Do-Organic-S ... ed+coconut

It's all I found that is gluten free and not processed in a facility that also processes soy, dairy etc. Bob's Red Mill does process in such a facility.

I think you're still in 'panic mode' with your meal planning, and I remember being the same way. I do a lot of cooking and baking, and I was stumped!

Right now concentrate on meat you can eat, because protein is so important to healing. I didn't force myself to eat it 3 X a day, and I think it slowed my recovery. Now, I eat turkey for breakfast, then venison for lunch and dinner, then venison the next day for breakfast, then haddock/cod for lunch & dinner, and breakfast the next day etc.

I cut out all processed foods, and inspect ingredients carefully. I stopped eating all grains for 2 months, before adding teff & buckwheat flour back into my diet, successfully.

I don't eat fruit or veggies right now. I'm concentrating on meat & potato (1+ for me on Enterolab, so I rotate it) and some homemade nut butters. It's actually working quite well.

It is a LONG process, and you have to think simply with your foods and take it one food at a time. I have been working at it for about 6 months now, and am finally seeing more success than failure. Don't be discouraged, it is a long battle back but very doable!

Here is the coconut milk recipe I use because it is so simple (I like simplicity). :)


http://wholenewmom.com/whole-new-budget ... -improved/

You may want to strain it with cheesecloth, but I just shake it before I use it and it's fine for me. I use it as a coffee creamer, and in my buckwheat waffles.

Linda

[sharonbelterday]

Leah, Idubois, JFR, Gloria and Tex,

Thanks again for all your support. Sorry for all the questions, but there really is a lot to figure out at first when you have multiple sensitivities. I think the ideas for meat and nut rotation (since I am sensitive to these), keep it simple, eat lots of protein, and finding out that you can eat meat 3 x daily really helped the most in getting my head through "panic mode with my meal planning" which Idubois described. Learning that it is a LONG process also helped. I think I will rotate the meats with cooked carrots until I determine if they all agree with me.

I plan to stay Gluten Free, probably forever, and haven't had processed food for years, with the exception of things like Almond Milk. I always have read labels for artificial ingredients and scary chemicals, but now am avoiding things like guar gum too. I switched to coconut oil now and won't be using butter or ghee any more. I don't buy milk or soy, but I will miss eggs! They seem to be a "binder" in a lot of recipes, and I don't know what a safe substitute would be.

Thanks for telling me what works and what doesn't for you. It helped me to develop an eating strategy.

I hope your gut damage doesn't go back to "square one" every time you make an eating mistake when you are trying new things...then it really would take forever.


I found a cool nut cracker recipe (sorry you can't use it Tex!) with no eggs, etc.

CINNAMON WALNUT CRACKERS

2 c walnuts (I used pecans)
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
3 t cinnamon
2 T melted coconut oil
1 T honey
1 T water

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a food processor or blender, plus all dry ingredients until powdery, then add all moist ingredients until a smooth paste forms.

Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and using a rubber spatula, gently smear the sticky batter onto the parchment paper until you get a rectangle approx 11 x 18 inches.

Bake 12-14 minutes until firm and browned, but not burnt. Let cool completely and cut with a knife into 12 crackers.

That's it! They were pretty good, only took a minute to whip up.

[tex]

I don't buy milk or soy, but I will miss eggs! They seem to be a "binder" in a lot of recipes, and I don't know what a safe substitute would be.

Quite a few members find that after they have been in stable remission for a while (to allow some significant intestinal healing), they can eat eggs in baked goods, as long as they don't overdo it, even though eating eggs alone still causes a reaction.

I hope your gut damage doesn't go back to "square one" every time you make an eating mistake when you are trying new things...then it really would take forever.

As our intestines heal, and time passes, for most of us, any mistakes in our diet will eventually result in less severe reactions that resolve in a relatively short amount of time. IOW, after we have been in remission for a few years, instead of an accidental gluten event causing a major flare that may last for a week or so, instead, such a reaction is likely to amount to 1 or 2 mild to mediocre D episodes over maybe half a day or so, and the next day we will be fine. As long as we are faithful to our diet and reasonably careful about checking labels, anxiety and apprehension definitely tend to decrease as time goes on, as we become more tuned in to how our body reacts to our diet.

It's human nature to fear the things that we don't understand, but knowledge is power, and as we learn more about how our digestive system and our body works, and we learn to listen to what it is telling us, the fear of the unknown fades away and life becomes much more relaxed, and more enjoyable.

Tex

[Deb]

By the way, have you found an inexpensive source for finding the unsweetened coconut?

My local health food store sells it in bulk in bins. It's pretty economical. Deb