BRAND NEW TO CC - Questions galore!!

[tex]

Treese,

Most of us can tolerate almond milk, the GF Chex cereals, and cream of rice.

It took a long time for MC to develop for most of us, and it takes a long time for the damage to heal after we change our diet. Everyone has a different interpretation of remission, but basically it involves no longer having to worry about the location of the nearest toilet, and beginning to feel almost human again, most of the time.

If I were in your situation I would forget about the Max Dophilus supplement. Most of us do not tolerate probiotics very well until after we have been in remission for a while (and by then we probably don't need a probiotic). Probiotics are made to sell, and it's a huge, very profitable industry. If you search the archives here you will find that for the vast majority of us, probiotics either do not help, or they make our symptoms much worse. More than a few members here have derailed their recovery and suffered a relapse after trying a probiotic, or some other supplement, or a "cleansing" program at the suggestion of a friend, or a naturopathic practitioner.

Always remember to keep your diet simple for a faster recovery time. Less is more, when treating MC. Eat whole foods (cooked from scratch), and minimize (or skip) the highly-processed stuff. IOW, the less unnatural junk we put into our body, the more likely we are to recover, and do so more quickly.

You can see some of the EnteroLab results for some of us at the following links:

Food Sensitivity Test Results For Names A–J

Food Sensitivity Test Results For Names K–Z

Tex

[TREESE]

SUZE - I am deeply grateful for your assistance yesterday. I looked up Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free White Bread, but sadly it appears to have many of those same ingredients in it that Wayne told me were way too suspect a List. Wayne shared that ingredients such as....(quote from Wayne's Post) "eggs, xanthan gum, guar gum, and locust bean gum can be a permanent problem for many of us. Guar and locust bean trees are legumes, so anyone sensitive to soy will usually also react to legumes and their derivatives. Xanthan Gum is made by fermenting corn sugar with a bacteria, Xanthomonas campestris. The slimy goo left by the bacteria after they decompose the corn sugar is dried and ground into a fine white powder. These are the same bacteria that create black spots on broccoli and cauliflower..."
can really mess us up.

The Tests do sound like they could shed some light. I am just not financially in a position to spend that kind of money unless I am really sure that it is the best way to proceed.
The Elimination Diet sounds like a good option Until then. And maybe just sticking to basic whole foods like chicken and white rice, maybe gluten-free rice chex, while taking my Vit supplements of Calcium and Vit D. I don't know, but I have to try something.

JARI - I hear ya! The Back Pain, the early Osteoporosis...all could have had some basis in food sensitivities, I suppose. I do believe in natural ways of eating. Just can't always afford it.

IF I were to Bake my own Gluten-Free Bread, is it hard? Do I need equipment like a bread maker? Are their forums on this Site to tell me how? I would give it a go!

TREESE

[TREESE]

Morning, Tex - your Post just above...did you mean Cream of Wheat or Cream of Rice? You said Cream of Wheat... but I remember you saying wheat could be a problem....

Will check out those Test Result Links!

Thanks,
Treese

[jlbattin]

Do you have a Costco (it's a warehouse store) close to you? Or even a Sam's Club? I prefer Costco now as they are really starting to cater to the gluten free crowd. I buy my chicken there. It's no antibiotics or hormones and only $2.98 a pound. I buy the chicken breast strips (as I prefer smaller pieces of meat rather than a large chicken breast). I buy it in bulk and freeze it. They also have a gluten free oven baked turkey breast (with no nasty preservatives) that I buy, slice up with the electric knife, and freeze in small packages to pull out for lunch. It's really good and better than the gluten free deli turkey that can have preservatives and can get cross contaminated if they don't have a dedicated meat slicer. I also buy my rice in bulk. My grocery bill has gone way down as I don't buy any processed packaged foods, and don't eat out. I did make up some meals for my husband to pull out of the freezer. But not buying all that junk I used to buy has really cut down on my food bill! :)

[TREESE]

Yes, JARI, I do have a COSTCO and Wow, Great ideas for shopping! And great Prices, too! I can do that!

Do YOU buy Gluten-Free Bread there, too? Any Brands to recommend? Here's a funny thing...that Same Rice Gluten Free Bread I ate once and laid in me like lead seems appealing now... Can't explain it. It just isn't laying in me like that first time. I actually find myself wanting to toast up another slice.

You All are just sooooo great to know!! Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!!
TREESE

[Grahm]

Treece, I buy the Udi's frozen bread at Costco and come home and individually wrap it in two's. I do have to toast it. I don't LOVE it but it is a bread I can eat.

Love,
Connie

[jlbattin]

Treese,

I'm not eating any bread at all. I tested very high in gluten, soy, dairy, and eggs (and most gluten free bread has egg). I am not eating any processed foods at all. My Costco has the Canyon Bakery bread that has been highly recommended, and even though it is gluten free, soy free, and dairy free, it still has egg, so that will not work for me either. I'm not ready to introduce any processed foods to my system. I will continue to eat my chicken, rice, turkey, potatoes, and banana for another 3-4 weeks while I continue to heal, and then maybe try to introduce some other meats back in (one at a time) and see how I do. Some of the veggies that many folks consider safe for them (like overcooked cauliflower, broccoli, etc.) caused bloating and gas for me before MC, and right now, I'm just not willing to try those. I did eat green beans for awhile but experienced a lot of bloating and that subsided when I cut them out. They are a legume and my soy sensitivities don't care for those, I guess! I'm really trying to stick to whole foods and not something from a box, mix, etc.

[tex]

your Post just above...did you mean Cream of Wheat or Cream of Rice? You said Cream of Wheat... but I remember you saying wheat could be a problem....

Obviously I meant cream of rice. Thanks for pointing that out. I've edited my post above to correct that dumb mistake. I reckon I should get to bed sooner at night, rather than trying to write posts.

Thanks,
Tex

[TREESE]

Heavens No, Tex!! You are so Not allowed to get to bed earlier instead of writing Posts! (hee hee) Only kidding, of course. I'm not gonna be picking apart your words, don't worry. Just making sure I am understanding everything correctly! Cream of Rice it is, then! Thank you!

Thanks Jari for your eating tips and thanks also to Connie for your UDI Ideas!

QUESTION: Anyone eat canned sliced cranberry with their Turkey or is that not good? It's just sooo dry with Nothing on it!

[TREESE]

I have some VERY Disappointing News to Report, friends... New York residents are NOT Allowed to Order the EnteroLab Tests. Some Licensing issue. I am so disappointed because I actually found a way to get the money and was beginning the process of Ordering the A1-C1 Panel when I found out. I phoned the Lab to Verify that I was reading it correctly. Sadly, I was.

ANY IDEAS???? Anyone Else have this Issue? Seems Maryland is also not allowed.
TREESE

[tex]

Treese,

I eat the jelled cranberry without any problems.

The problem with New York and Maryland is that their doctors have a very effective lobbying group that convinced the state legislatures to pass laws years ago, forbidding the residents of those states to order medical tests direct from any laboratories. The campaigns were successfully promoted as a way to protect the residents of the states, doncha know. What they were actually saying is that they don't believe that residents of their respective states have enough intelligence and knowledge to handle the interpretation of the tests safely because they don't have medical training. Well Duh! Virtually all lab tests come with interpretations from a licensed medical professional these days, so that argument holds no water. The bottom line is that the doctor's professional organizations in those states just wanted to make sure that they had a monopoly on all medical tests, so that they could get their slice of the pie by pretending to interpret the tests.

This problem turns up frequently on this discussion board. Most members of those states get around the asinine law by having relatives or friends in adjacent states receive the sample kit for them, deliver or send the kit to the member, and then ship the frozen sample back to the lab. If you don't have any relatives or friends in adjacent states who are conveniently located, or willing to do that, some of the members here in adjacent states are usually willing to help out.

Tex

[TREESE]

Your assessment of the situation with the Lobbyists and Laws makes sense, Tex.

Also, I phoned Entero Labs about the matter and they gave me the same advice about the neighboring states as you. I will make some calls and see if I can get a family member to allow me to have the Kit sent to them. Then, all that would have to be done on my end could be managed accordingly.

In the event this plan doesn't work, I will let the lovely people of this forum know that I need a friend! Thank you!

Boy, would I enjoy some Cranberry on my Turkey about now! Thanks for sharing your Cranberry experience, Tex!

UPDATE on Gluten-Free Hunting: Cheerios Gluten-Free is on the shelves already, but it still has ingredients that I'm unsure of, so I'll wait on trying that. Staying away from oatmeal for a while, too. Seems the Gluten-Free Pasta by Ronzoni is made from 4 different flours which include corn and wheat, so I didn't buy that. Barilla Brand is made from just Corn and Rice flour, but not knowing about any corn sensitivities yet, I didn't buy that either.

Believe it or not, I now actually LIKE the gluten-free rice white bread I bought and couldn't stand at first try. I Toast it. It's called, White Rice Yeast-Free Loaf by ENER-G. I don't know how to Rate the Ingredients, though. After filtered Water and White Rice Flour, I get lost. I also bought one With Yeast but haven't tried it yet. Gluten-Free Bread Crumbs, Plain, also got into my Cart today.

Sooo... it's been a productive day, thanks to you all! I hope you have all felt as encouraged today in your own recoveries as you have made me feel! PS To TEX: I did Not eat Yogurt today, and my Stomach actually feels calmer... stop grinning, You!! hee hee

TREESE

[Erica P-G]

Hi Treese,

A good pasta to find would be Tikiyada it is a purple pkg with a bunny on it I think.

You have gotten some really great advice so far

My safe foods are Turkey (in many ways - deli, sausage, ground), White Rice, GF Bread (Local bakery makes it - I can only eat it toasted too, but it tastes good), GF Rice Chex Cinnamon, Cream of Rice, Honey, Real Maple syrup, Plain potato chips (potato, safflower oil and sea salt only), Cashews, Coconut milk, Water and my splurge (a mini Mountain Dew ).

I have tried cranberry jell and can't handle it just yet (only 3 months into my new diet), even though when I did, it was heavenly with my turkey....maybe when Thanksgiving comes around I will be ready for a little of it then.

When in doubt or in a hurry...eat lots of protein any time of day even snacks.

cheers
Erica

[tex]

PS To TEX: I did Not eat Yogurt today, and my Stomach actually feels calmer... stop grinning, You!! hee hee

Tex

[TREESE]

Hi, Erica - Did you get the Entero labs Tests? Is that how you know what to eat now? I am working on getting them, but since I'm in NY, I have to wait until I find out if a relative in Jersey is going to help out.

You mentioned Maple Syrup and not Cane or something else? Is Maple a better sugar source than Cane?

I just bought a rice pasta gluten free today. Figured since rice seems ok, I could try that one, first.

Your Diet sounds like it's been improving for you...that's great! How is your energy level? Do you drink anything with Caffeine in it? Decaff Tea or Coffee? Seems like that varies from person to person. I guess a lot of this stuff does.

Thanks for writing with your Tips and for sharing your Diet with me! I appreciate it!
TREESE