Hi, all,
I've been in and out of flares for more than a decade. At this point, I'm realizing that the thing that does me in is too much fiber (I've already taken out every allergen I can think of), but the problem is that I can't figure out what the line of too much fiber is. I'd been eating a lot of swiss chard, as in every single meal. But then one Saturday about a month ago the farmer's market didn't have any chard, so I started eating more zucchini (without the peel) instead. Suddenly I was seeing Normans for the first time in more than four months! It was a beautiful 2-week honeymoon, and then my husband came back from the farmer's market with these massive baseball zucchinis. So, I peeled them and cooked them thoroughly and proceeded to eat them with every meal. By the end of the week, I was getting severe bloating and D again. I think it was just too many seeds. So, in order to really heal, do we just have to stay mostly fiber-free for a long, long time? I keep reading that it takes a good two years for the gut to heal. But it's really hard to just eat meat, even if I'm juicing. It's just not the same nourishing quality that cooked veggies bring to a meal, you know? What to do, what to do? I want to heal, but I also want to eat more than meatloaf for every single meal of every single day of the next two years.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts and support . . .
Elizabeth
Fiber - how long do we have to keep it out of our diets?
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Hi Elizabeth,
That's a good question. I have a hunch that the most accurate answer is that "it depends, because we are all different".
I stayed on a limited diet for over a year and a half before I was able to successfully reintroduce any foods.
That said, there should be certain veggies that you should be able to eat in moderation, as long as they are peeled and overcooked. I was lucky, because I always seemed to be able to eat green beans and squash. However, note that I only ate them once or twice a week, not daily, and only in moderate amounts. The only vegetable that I routinely ate on a daily basis (and in unlimited quantities), was potatoes.
Tex
That's a good question. I have a hunch that the most accurate answer is that "it depends, because we are all different".
I stayed on a limited diet for over a year and a half before I was able to successfully reintroduce any foods.
That said, there should be certain veggies that you should be able to eat in moderation, as long as they are peeled and overcooked. I was lucky, because I always seemed to be able to eat green beans and squash. However, note that I only ate them once or twice a week, not daily, and only in moderate amounts. The only vegetable that I routinely ate on a daily basis (and in unlimited quantities), was potatoes.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Thanks, Tex. I think the idea of just eating a particular kind of veggie a couple of times a week is probably right on. I tend to eat the same thing every day once I feel like I've found the right thing, but eventually that "right thing" becomes the wrong thing. Slowly but surely, I'm going to conquer this MC thing!
Hi Elizabeth,
I am starting to draw the same conclusion to my flares. I certainly know that stress/lack of sleep affects me, but too much fiber from vegetables (my favorite) is problematic. I've been eating vegetables and usually a banana every day, but it seems I need to make a change. Thanks for your thoughts, Tex.
Kathy
I am starting to draw the same conclusion to my flares. I certainly know that stress/lack of sleep affects me, but too much fiber from vegetables (my favorite) is problematic. I've been eating vegetables and usually a banana every day, but it seems I need to make a change. Thanks for your thoughts, Tex.
Kathy
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Gabes-Apg
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Like Tex, I have stuck with the same eating plan for 3.5 years.
The same well cooked veges (6 of them), the same well cooked proteins....
I have mentioned this before, our ancestors, and it doesn't matter what your heritage is, up until the 1800's lived on a small base of ingredients
what was grown locally.
Even today, in Africa, in Papua New Guinea, in south America, there are remote tribes, that exist on a eating plan that may only have 6-9 ingredients!
these tribes do not have IBD's, Diabetes, Asthma, Heart Disease, Skin conditions...
Only if someone leaves the tribe and goes to a town do they even learn that there is a world full of thousands of different ingredients!!!
Living off a small base of ingredients is not unhealthy....
The same well cooked veges (6 of them), the same well cooked proteins....
I have mentioned this before, our ancestors, and it doesn't matter what your heritage is, up until the 1800's lived on a small base of ingredients
what was grown locally.
Even today, in Africa, in Papua New Guinea, in south America, there are remote tribes, that exist on a eating plan that may only have 6-9 ingredients!
these tribes do not have IBD's, Diabetes, Asthma, Heart Disease, Skin conditions...
Only if someone leaves the tribe and goes to a town do they even learn that there is a world full of thousands of different ingredients!!!
Living off a small base of ingredients is not unhealthy....
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
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I've been somewhat well to the gut more or less since the beginning of the year. Over the past 3 weeks thought I've been completely well after removing what I'm hoping is the last troubling foods, citrus fruits. What I'm finding recently is that I can eat fiber with out being ill to the gut, but fiber rich foods sure zap my energy and causes the gut to pulsate painfully. I'm guessing for healing I'll need to eat low fiber for a long while.
I, too, eat a small number of ingredients. It is simple way to eat, and it works. I strayed and tried a bit of kale at a friend's house last night, and I've paid for it all day today. Perhaps, though, I'm not eating my veggies in moderation. I don't think, at least yet, I can eat them every day because I still have periodic mild flares. I thought I could, but I think I need to back off. Anyway, this seems to be my next challenge. Kathy
Thanks, all, for your thoughts on the fiber issue. It gets tricky for me because I always have a delayed reaction. I start eating more fiber, and then it's not until 5-7 days later that I see I've made a miscalculation again in how much I can handle. And then I have to back off and eat no fiber at all, which is such a bummer.
By the way, anyone have opinions on meatloaf made from pasture-raised beef? I know that Gabes and others have talked about how beef can be tough for the body to handle. I eat a lot of it - almost every meal - because I can get it pretty cheap (well, comparatively) from a local farmer. Just trying to figure out if I'm slowing the possibility of healing. Thanks!
By the way, anyone have opinions on meatloaf made from pasture-raised beef? I know that Gabes and others have talked about how beef can be tough for the body to handle. I eat a lot of it - almost every meal - because I can get it pretty cheap (well, comparatively) from a local farmer. Just trying to figure out if I'm slowing the possibility of healing. Thanks!
Gabes wrote:Living off a small base of ingredients is not unhealthy....
And history (a couple of million years of it, prior to the last century or so) also agrees with you.Elizabeth,
As long as you tolerate it well, pasture-raised beef should be safe, and good for healing. It contains every essential amino acid that our body needs.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Living off of a small base of ingredients isn't unhealthy as long as they provide adequate nutrition.
I am down to one vegetable - cauliflower, and it is probably one of the poorest vegetables, nutritionally speaking. I've been looking at my list of nutrients and without a multiple vitamin, I'm lacking in 12 crucial nutrients, particularly vitamin A. Vitamin A is abundant in dark green and leafy vegetables, but they all cause me to have D.
I've been eating mango, which has a lot of vitamin A, but I may be overdoing the fructose. My sterling Normans stopped abruptly last week after I eliminated one Entocort pill every 4th day. I also had stopped taking Culturelle the week before. Those were the only changes I made. I took 2 Entocort pills yesterday and resumed the Culturelle and one Entocort today. Things are only slightly better.
I'm eating 8 foods and can't eliminate any more. I've been eating so few foods for so long, that I need to be concerned about the effect on other organs, such as the thyroid, from eating an inadequate diet.
I'd like to do a trial of eliminating my multivitamin because the vitamin E in it is made from soy, which is typical of most, if not all, vitamin E supplements. I could buy vitamin supplements individually. It will probably be more expensive and require many more pills. It also has the potential of introducing additional ingredients to which I may be intolerant.
I am down to one vegetable - cauliflower, and it is probably one of the poorest vegetables, nutritionally speaking. I've been looking at my list of nutrients and without a multiple vitamin, I'm lacking in 12 crucial nutrients, particularly vitamin A. Vitamin A is abundant in dark green and leafy vegetables, but they all cause me to have D.
I've been eating mango, which has a lot of vitamin A, but I may be overdoing the fructose. My sterling Normans stopped abruptly last week after I eliminated one Entocort pill every 4th day. I also had stopped taking Culturelle the week before. Those were the only changes I made. I took 2 Entocort pills yesterday and resumed the Culturelle and one Entocort today. Things are only slightly better.
I'm eating 8 foods and can't eliminate any more. I've been eating so few foods for so long, that I need to be concerned about the effect on other organs, such as the thyroid, from eating an inadequate diet.
I'd like to do a trial of eliminating my multivitamin because the vitamin E in it is made from soy, which is typical of most, if not all, vitamin E supplements. I could buy vitamin supplements individually. It will probably be more expensive and require many more pills. It also has the potential of introducing additional ingredients to which I may be intolerant.
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
Hi Beth. I also eat a lot of Beef.... but then again, i eat almost all meats.
As for fiber, I have been able to handle fiber pretty well as long as it's in moderation. i can have a small portion of veggies at dinner, but not at every meal. I can even eat certain beans in moderation and popcorn. When I think of it, probably have something with fiber once a day. This just goes to show you that we are all so different, but moderation seems to be the key.
Leah
As for fiber, I have been able to handle fiber pretty well as long as it's in moderation. i can have a small portion of veggies at dinner, but not at every meal. I can even eat certain beans in moderation and popcorn. When I think of it, probably have something with fiber once a day. This just goes to show you that we are all so different, but moderation seems to be the key.
Leah