Suggested Eating Plan - Stage ONE

[Gabes-Apg]

Michele,
agree with Tex's reply regarding the potassium and magnesium - and the type of magnesium.

Please help, I start my new job as a registered nurse at a hospital on 2/25/19 and need to have energy, and a few foods that I know are safe to eat so I don't have issues during my shifts.

this is a bit of a stressful deadline. it can take 6-8 weeks to resolve minor nutritional deficiencies, and the 12-16 weeks to resolve medium level type deficiencies. (it took me 6 months to resolve my magnesium deficiency)

one of the key things of life with MC, coming up with MC management plan etc, having goals and dreams is good, having a deadline that you have to healed by is not ideal, as this puts stress/pressure on the healing process.

re the eating plan, some of us can not tolerate olive oil. it is something worth reviewing and seeing if it is hindering rather than helping.

good luck with the healing journey

[27angel]

Thank you both for your quick responses. I have some magnesium oil that I began applying again after Tex's response. I've also started soaking my feet in Epsom Salt and warm water. Hopefully on Friday I can purchase the oral Magnesium glycinate. I've also started using Morton's light salt for added potassium.

I plan to continue with the elimination diet once I begin working even though I may have to start taking Welchol again on nights that I work. The good thing is that is will be 3 nights on a 4 nights off so I can work on not being medicated half of the week. I can't not begin working because my family is counting on me but I hope this will be less stressful that the last year and a half.

Yesterday I eliminated olive oil because I had over 5 BM's of diarrhea during the night. So now I'm eating turkey, jasmine rice, and homemade turkey bone broth.

One more question is what should I look for BM-wise to indicate that I should attempt to add a new possibly "safe" meat or vegetable? Should I wait for it to be consistently less than 5 BMs or should I wait for no more diarrhea?

Thank you again,
Michele Malcolm

[tex]

It's normal to want to add foods at the first signs of improvement. But it's risky to take a chance on adding foods before you've been in remission (normal bowel pattern) for at least a couple of weeks (longer is much better). Antibody levels remain elevated for a relatively long time after our initial flare, meaning that immune system sensitivity levels remain high for a longer period than we usually realize. This can cause us to react to things that we normally would not have a problem with. Remember that if something causes you to relapse at this stage, you may be back at square one. Early on, remission is fragile and can easily collapse if we're not careful.

As Gabes points out, we didn't develop this disease overnight, and we won't be able to control it overnight, either.

When taking oral magnesium, be cautious. Magnesium glycinate seems to be the least likely to cause diarrhea, while providing the most benefits, but too much magnesium of any type can cause diarrhea, and this threshold seems to vary by the individual. Personally, I'd be concerned about taking more than 200–300 mg per day (divided with meals) while I was reacting, and even this much may be too much. Topically-applied magnesium is much safer. Some people have to avoid all supplements for a while in order to break out of a flare.

Bananas are usually a safe source of potassium as long as you're not having histamine problems.

Tex

[Gabes-Apg]

the Welchol sounds like a good option

agree with tex, do not go trying to add things while you are still having multiple BM's a day.
no way to figure out if current ingredient causing issues or if new ingredient is causing issues.

make one change at a time, patience and going slow is key to healing.
you have stopped the olive oil, wait a few days to see if things improve.

breath, and be patient/realistic with results. they will be slow and gradual.
like when someone breaks a bone, it takes weeks and weeks of immobilization to heal.
the gut takes longer.

[Sherryann]

Nearly four months have passed since I started a diet to heal MC, and I continue having multiple bouts of D, daily, and from time to time, fecal incontinence

Now, because I am driving cross-country, my daily diet is extremely limited: 3-4 duck eggs and 3-4 bananas, plus rice milk and occasional G-F rice Chex. This past evening I ate 4-5 tsp. of water-packed wild-caught Alaska wild salmon, and there was slight change in BM, but not enough to be concerned about.

In these three months, I pressure-cooked grass-fed beef bones for broth but every time the broth triggered more D. I refrigerated broth to allow fat to accumulate at top and scooped it off. Still but it still triggered umpteen bouts of D. I did add ginger and tumeric and kombu sea veg to pressure cooker and wonder if any of these ingredients caused bouts of D. Although I boil fresh ginger for tea and that’s caused no problems. Baked organic kosher turkey breast w kosher salt seems to be ok. I also pressure-cooked turkey neck bones but that caused D+. I think there was too much fat in that broth that I wasn’t able to cull from broth. I also tried yams (not sweet potatoes) and boiled to mushy spinach and green beans but that cause more D.

I am sick of duck eggs, but eat them because they are not problematic. I also tried making amaranth pancakes but it also caused lots of D.

Net loss of about 30 ponds in past three months. NP, I needed to lose wgt and could let go of 10 more pounds and after that, I will be rake thin.

Seriously I don’t know what to eat, other than what I mentioned above.

I understand importance of making diet plan and sticking to it, but the question is Which Foods To Include in Diet Plan .. if I don’t know which foods trigger D.

Help.

[Gabes-Apg]

sorry that you are having a rough time

as per the first post of this thread - we recommend no spices or herbs in the first stages of healing. I think the add ins to your beef broth (ginger, tumeric, kombu etc) one, some or all of these may have been the culprit
we encourage that broth just be bones and salt (especially in first stages of healing)

green beans - if you react to soy then some of us react to beans (i do)

be cautious of the GF rice Chex, it still has small amounts of gluten
avoid baked goods

what to eat - safe proteins, 1-2 veges
if you eat some vegges and have multiple D then one or some of those veges does not agree with you

Basics of the eating plan
Gluten Free (100% gluten free)
Dairy Free
Soy Free
Egg Free

Why - these are the most common items to cause issues for MC'ers.
when there has been good healing, some people can add eggs back in. (or use alternative egg source like Duck eggs, quail eggs etc more on this later)
there are articles at the bottom about Gluten and Dairy and why they are highly inflammatory. Not just for MC'ers or those with IBD's for but for the entire population. It is very likely you had the celiac blood test and it came out negative. there is an explanation below that will clarify this issue.

Bland - no spices, salt only (where possible use grinder and pure salt, pure pepper so there is no risk of contamination from processed items Why? spices increase inflammation

Well cooked Vegetables - mushy well cooked veges - why? fibre is inflammation trigger to MC'ers, especially when reacting. (after good period of healing, fibre intake can be increased slightly)
also- well cooked makes them low inflammation, easy to digest, the body uses less energy to get the goodness from the meal
early days keep it to 1-3 safe vegetables there is no absolutely safe vegetable for everyone, the following is a list of the ones that suit most.
Sweet Potato/Kumara Red potato carrot courgette/zucchini/squash Rutabaga/turnip/swede Cauliflower

Well cooked proteins - optimises bodies ability to digest the protein and absorb the nutrients
Protein, being animal protein is key element for healing. Aim to have good serves of protein each meal.
which proteins? this is where things get very individual - Things like Chicken can be ok for some, but total chaos for someone else.
Turkey (ensure it is pure, and no hidden ingredients like soy via rosemary flavour or onion powder, )
Lamb
Game Meats - Venison, Bison, Duck etc (tend to be pure, grass fed, less GMO inputs etc)
Seafood
Pork

Fats
Animal Fat, - via fatty cuts of meat including bacon.
the safest fat sources are Coconut Oil or Pure Olive Oil.
Ghee is safe for some people
Fat is essential for good digestion process, and needed for the healing process. Unrefined coconut oil has a relatively low smoke point, and it makes anything cooked in it taste like coconut. A good refined coconut oil has a much higher smoke point (therefore it is great for frying fish, etc., at 350–360 degrees F), and I have never tasted coconut in the fish, French fries, chicken, or whatever I have cooked in it. (I really didn't want hash browns that tasted like coconut)! :)

Home Made Bone Broth
home made bone broth is a cheap gut healing powerforce! it has 75% of the amino acids your body needs, it has gut healing essential like collagen and gelatin, it has minerals - All in a easy to digest form, in a perfect combo of elements that optimize each other.
Use it to make soups and stews with your safe protein and vegetables
cook vegetables in it (gives them more flavour)
some people can drink small amount each day
cook rice or other safe grains in it


Cooking the bones for 2-3 hours and freezing into portions is best way to avoid histamine issues
NB: commercial stocks and broths do not have the same gut healing ingredients in them.
Like most things in MC world, not everything will suit everybody.

[Sherryann]

Thank you!!!

[27angel]

Thank you again Tex and Gabes.

If extra virgin olive oil isn't safe for everyone is coconut oil any safer or should I not worry about getting fats at this stage in the game?

Besides fats I would also like to clarify what I've understood from you. I will only eat meats on the safe list from the beginning of this thread. I will make broth from the bones of the safe meats. I will only eat 1-2 safe vegetables and not worry about adding others until I've had several weeks of regular BM's. I will add salt, Light salt, possibly bananas, oral and topical magnesium to replace electrolytes.

Should I stop the jasmine rice just in case.

I've been having 5-10 watery BM's a day this week (before that it had been 1-2/day) and the intestinal cramping is quiet painful. A while ago I read in a book about healing the gut through diet beginning with an elimination phase that it should take 3-4 days of just broth with well cooked meat and vegetables soup to stop having diarrhea. This book wasn't specifically about MC but all GI problems. Is it very different for MC? Will I continue having this many, watery BM's for the next several weeks to months with no relief from eliminating almost everything from my diet? I kind of thought once I stopped taking in trigger foods the symptoms would lessen even though the damage is still there and will take time to heal.

Sorry for all the questions, I'm kind of hard headed sometimes and it takes a while to process everything.
Michele Malcolm

[tex]

Hi Michele,

The problem with olive oil is that a lot of imported olive oil is adulterated by other oils. At least that used to be the case several years ago. I don't know if it has gotten any better with time. If you want to use olive oil, use a California brand. They're pure.

Many MC patients find coconut oil to be perfectly safe and coconut itself to enhance healing, as in coconut macaroons.

Rice sensitivity is possible, but extremely rare.

The intestines will not heal in 3 or 4 days. Most people reach remission in 3 to 9 months, but some take longer, and microscopic gluten damage to the gut requires 3 to 5 years to completely heal, for adults. Kids can heal in a year or less. Some people see their symptoms stop overnight while others see them very gradually improve. No one can accurately predict how long it will take anyone to reach remission or to heal.

Most people have to carefully follow the diet for at a couple of months before seeing any signs of improvement. But at the extremes, a very few people reach remission in a day or or two while some take well over a year. the rest of us fall somewhere in between.

Tex

[KarenT]

Good morning,

I've finally gotten to the point where I will try the elimination diet. I've put it off hoping for a miracle. I like food, I like good food. I like sweet, carb-y food. I am reframing to a "eat to live" mentality. So, I've spent several hours reading through posts on where to start. Thanks Gabes, for all the information on this post!

I want to double check that garlic and avocados are no-no's in stage one? How about Stevia?

Is Earth Balance soy free spread the best butter substitute? I'm fine eating lots of rice and potatoes but I need something to help them go down! ;-)

How do you know if a protein is "safe"? I am starting with chicken. Exotic proteins are cost prohibitive.

Thank you all!

[tex]

Hi Karen,

Gabes may be too busy to check in here (it's already tomorrow in Australia), and no one else has responded, so I'll take a stab at answering your questions

Most of us react to things like onion and garlic when we are still recovering. I'm not sure about avocados ( I don't eat them) but they may contain too much fiber and fat for us during recovery. They would be fine after we've been in remission for a while, though. Pure stevia is fine when we're in remission (I'm not so sure about using it in a recovery diet). The versions with maltodextrin or other additives cause many of us to react.

Yes, Earth Balance Soy Free is probably the best choice as a butter substitute.

EnteroLab offers stool tests that show antibodies to various meats, but they may seem expensive. Many of us react to chicken. Turkey or lamb are much safer — virtually no one reacts to them. Shellfish are also safe for most of us (unless we have always been allergic to them).

I hope this helps.

Tex

[KarenT]

Thank you Tex, I appreciate your reply.

Yes, those tests are expensive! If a person does react to, in my case, chicken would there just be no improvement in symptoms? Is that the indication that a food is reactive (early on in the elimination stage). Or, I could be fine with chicken but it will take months + to see any change? I hope this question makes sense..... it's early in Virginia and I think I'm having sugar withdrawal headaches.....

[tex]

Hi Karen,

In the early stages of our recovery, as long as we are already/still reacting, it's extremely difficult to determine whether we are reacting to a particular food that's a regular part of our diet. Sometimes we can avoid that food for 5 or 6 days and then try it again and we may notice an uptick in symptoms if it's reactive. But for definitive results, we really need to be in remission in order to judge test foods. The effects (if any) will usually be quite clear then. After all, if we're already having a flare, how are we going to be able to tell the difference if we react when we eat a food?

But you are correct, even if our diet is safe, a certain amount of time must pass before we will see results. The gut heals slowly, so we have to be dedicated and patient. Normally, a safe diet will produce significant improvements in one to three months. We're all in different situations, so it's impossible to reliably predict recovery times. Some people reach remission in as short as a few days, and some take a year or more. But if we look at recovery times with statistical analys, I'm sure it could be represented by a typical bell curve, with most people falling in the few month range. Budesonide will greatly shorten the time to remission, but then we have to deal with a very long, drawn-out treatment-tapering process in order to prevent a relapse due to the mast cell rebound effect.

Because of the time requirement to allow the diet to work, we need to adopt the safest possible recovery diet. If we continue to eat even a single reactive food as part of the diet, we will probably never achieve remission. So sacrifices and prudent choices early on can greatly shorten our recovery time. Poor food choices (or poor supplement or med choices) may mean that the reaction will continue indefinitely. Generally, if you can't notice any significant improvement in symptoms of any kind within a few weeks or so after starting a strict diet, it may be time to reassess your food choices and/or stop taking supplements or certain meds.

Remember, we don't produce antibodies to sugar, so it doesn't trigger an MC reaction. A little sugar is fine, so long as we don't overdo it. We lose the ability to digest large (normal) amounts of sugar while our intestines are inflamed, so if we eat large amounts, most of it will pass into our colon undigested, where it is fermented by bacteria, producing gas, bloating, cramps, and diarrhea. Usually, we can still digest small amounts of sugar just fine. Larger amounts of sugar also feeds Candida albicans (yeast), which is known to contribute to leaky gut (because the roots penetrate the tight junctions in the intestinal wall).

Tex

[KarenT]

Thank you again, Tex, you are a wealth of information!

I bought some salmon, lamb and pork. I struggle with turkey except on Thanksgiving and sandwiches the days after.

I will check my Vit D supplement, hopefully it doesn't have any triggers.

[dolson]

I'm making a copy of your great MC post. I'm learning to deal with MC, but still have questions and I can look at your food posting on my cork board. Thanks, Gabes - Dorothy