Is this a permanent diet?

[sharonbelterday]

Tex, you said:

I eliminated every food that my records showed to be suspicious, and adopted a minimal, bland diet, and lo and behold, it worked. The EnteroLab tests could have saved me years of misery, if I had been aware of them.

Are you still adhering to this in order to remain healthy? The reason I am asking is that I am going through my cookbooks and recipes to see what I can still cook, or modify slightly in order to still be able to eat, and my plan is to jettison the rest, if that is what is needed on a permanent basis.

I know I will always need to be gluten free, and can gradually add more vegetables and fruit as time goes on and I heal. I will probably always rotate my meats and nuts now.

But what about eggs, soy and dairy? Will these always need to be avoided in order to retain a healthy/healed gut?

I don't really care either way at this point. I am just so happy to be feeling better. I found a couple of awesome turkey sausage and "meat muffin" recipes on the site last night. The turkey sausage was delicious.

Thanks for giving me the results of your experiences long term, and those who are in remission...

[Sheila]

Hi Sharon, I'm sure Tex will give you the best advice.

From my experience, I can tell you that after almost 2 years of GF, SF, DF, EF plus the many intolerances found during MRT testing, I am still eliminating food. I've given up trying to change favorite recipes into something acceptable because they just aren't the same and don't taste very good. Meals that have from one to three ingredients seem to work best. I no longer buy prepared foods except for crackers and waffles. I got tired of spending so much time and effort on meals that either made me sick or tasted lousy. I've always loved to cook and loved good food. These days I eat to live and am grateful to feel well most of the time. I am also taking one budesinide every other day and hope to get off completely by the end of the year.

Good luck,
Sheila W

[Deb]

Sharon, I am on the other side of the fence. I tested positive for gluten, dairy, soy and eggs. However my gluten reading ;(didn't do the others.(Enterolab) was over 500 on a scale of 1-300. I only eliminated that and got relief. I seem to be doing okay. I'm feeling better than I've felt in years but suspect thyroid treatment is playing a part in that. I know Tex eliminated dairy etc even though he was without symptoms but I haven't. My other readings were in the 20's and 30's. I'm probably just stubborn (Norwegian blood?) but I am not going to eliminate anything else unless I'm convinced I have to, in fact, kind of believe if I don't use it I'll lose it!

[Leah]

Hi Sharon.
I don't remember whether you did the Enterolab tests and know for sure that you tested positive for G,D,S,E. If you reacted to those things on the test t, then you should probably stay away from them for good. if you are just guessing, then down the road, you can test eggs, soy and dairy, but i would never go back to gluten.

I have been able to add many things back in, but i remain, G,D, and S free so I can remain feeling good.

leah

[tex]

But what about eggs, soy and dairy? Will these always need to be avoided in order to retain a healthy/healed gut?

Of course we all respond differently to various foods, but quite a few members here have found that after they have been in remission for a while they are able to use eggs in baked products (which helps to make baking easier), even though they still react to eggs if they try to eat them separately (fried, poached, boiled, scrambled, etc.).

Soy seems to be a permanent issue, but after several years of healing you may find that some of the legumes no longer bother you.

Dairy (similar to gluten) seems to be a permanent problem, but as Deb pointed out, it's possible for some people to develop a tolerance for casein (just as some celiacs are asymptomatic to gluten). Both Deb and myself are examples of that, and we can eat dairy products without obvious clinical symptoms. However, we still produce antibodies to casein (my score was 24), which means that additional inflammatory responses are surely triggered by the antibodies (if we ingest casein). Deb chooses to ignore that issue, while I strictly avoid all dairy products (since I have no way of knowing what the long-range consequences of that constant antibody production might turn out to be). For all I know though, I may be avoiding casein for no benefit.

Other foods that I avoided for almost 2 years include beef, corn, all fruit, many vegetables (and all raw vegetables), and I can now eat all of those, if I choose to do so. I cannot eat any nuts (nor can I eat nut butters) without GI issues, and grapes clean me out almost as well as the cleanout preps used before a colonoscopy.

I have to admit though, that I still typically eat a very simple diet with few foods — by choice, not because I can't eat a wider selection of foods. Since I now have an ileostomy (due to a separate problem, not because of an MC connection), I have to minimize fiber, so I very rarely eat any fruit or vegetables, except for maybe an occasional banana.

Tex

[JFR]

I eat a very simple diet. I plan to remain g,d,s,and e free for life. I have also avoided all foods that I tested either +2 or +3. I eat about 16 different foods and I do not have any strong desire to add things back. Keep it simple is my mantra. Like Tex, this is my choice. I guess I am a better safe than sorry sort of person.

Jean

[Blueberry]

I read something about this recently in Dr. Hunter's book on IBD conditions. He largely treats patients with crohn's disease, so this might not translate to MC. He mentions that from what he has observed patients that are able to control their CD with diet found after 5 to 10 years the disease had "burned out". Patients were able to eat about what ever was wanted after that length of time with few symptoms. He wasn't sure why that happens but had a few ideas.

I'm hoping that will be the case with my MC! I wouldn't be surprised though if some foods need to be avoided permanently such as wheat, and maybe citrus for me.

[Polly]

Well, speaking as one who was diagnosed with MC 13 years ago and never took meds but used diet alone, I have been able to add back in only a few of my many unsafe foods, mostly fruits and veggies. I have umpteen sensitivities, and the paleo diet has been my savior.

Love,

Polly

[Blueberry]

That's slightly disappointing Polly, but I suppose I'm not surprised that would be the case too.

The paleo diet helped me considerably also.

[sharonbelterday]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Yes, I did do the Enterolab tests, so everything listed under my photo is indeed, "official".

I am doing Paleo, but rotating meats and nuts so that I am able to eat something, even though I reacted to ALL of them.

I am not eating fruits and veggies raw at this point, except for bananas and avocado, and limiting steamed veggies, gradually adding one at a time (I have a fear of cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower for now). I also am not eating any beans.

I won't miss soy, gluten, salt water fish (3+) or dairy in the long run, so I will avoid those. I haven't tried the fresh water fish yet.

I will probably eventually try to add an egg to baked goods, for their "binding" properties. I am not really a treat eater, but I did like the almond flour breads.

I bought a yogurt maker, but squeezing the nut bags made such a mess and was time consuming, so I've sort of put it aside for now... Not really sure if the yogurt has necessary probiotics for healing, or if you can heal without them just by avoiding the stuff you have a reaction to.

So, as a result of your advice, I will jettison lots of my recipes and look for acceptable alternatives. I am done with purchasing cookbooks, as they usually have too many recipes using eggs, fish, beans or need 1/4 cup of "french cream" made in the yogurt maker (too much work, LOL)!

I really appreciate the postings of the recipes in this site. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[Leah]

How are you feeling these days Sharon?

[sharonbelterday]

Oh, much better Leah, thanks for asking!

Although no real "normans" yet, I only go about 2x per day, and my stomach is much quieter these days. I still am tired most afternoons (I am a morning person and try to get all my brain work and errands done in the morning). A day or two a week, I will still nap, and days when I don't my brain doesn't work real well as the day wears on. A couple of days last week, I could actually work all day, which is a first in a very long time.

My disposition is better, too, and I don't feel as "down" as I did when my body was in the throes of electrolyte imbalance, etc. It really helps to have this forum so you don't feel like such a freak. Thanks for providing it, Tex!

I hear it takes awhile (I think Tex said 2 years) for your body to heal (if you are doing things right for your body). I'm really being good, and not cheating! (except for the rotating meats part, but that can't be helped). I don't want my immune system to totally break down into all those other scary things down the road. I've actually gained 4 pounds back, so not quite so skinny.

I hope your health continues to improve, too. Thanks for being there for me (and everyone else)!!