This is my first post. I was diagnosed with CC in 2010. Symptoms in the beginning were mild and manageable but by 2016, I was having a LOT of diarrhea and knew I had to do something. I’m averse to pharmaceuticals but tried all sorts of supplements and remedies without success. I kept a food/poop log but could never determine what food(s) might be a problem. In my research, I came across Wayne’s first book, bought it, read it, and felt both encouraged and discouraged at the same time. I ordered the Enterolab test. Gluten sensitivity was, of course, the biggie, plus a host of other intolerances. Seemed like there was hardly anything that I could eat. I was overwhelmed and confused. So as a start I just went gluten free.
Three years later and I was no better off. I was still having lots of diarrhea (hidden gluten in my diet perhaps? who knows). So in late December 2019, around Christmas, I decided to hell with it, and went back to eating gluten. Surprisingly, in January and February I had mostly normal stools! However, that experience was short-lived, and I am now into my seventh month of ongoing WD, sometimes 10-12 times a day.
I can’t go on living like this!
I recently bought Wayne’s revised book, read it, and then started reading the posts on this forum. As others have said, there’s a wealth of helpful information and support here. I’m now ready to do whatever it takes to heal my gut and to commit to the recovery diet. But I need some help getting started. I’m uncertain about what foods are safe for me to start with.
Here are my Enterolab results from 2016:
Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA – 298 Units (normal range is less than 10 units)
Fecal Anti-casein (cow's milk) JgA – 58 Units (normal range is less than 10 units)
Fecal Anti-ovalbumin (chicken egg) IgA – 52 Units (normal range is less than 10 units)
Fecal Anti-soy IgA – 76 Units (normal range is less than 10 units)
Mean Value 11 Antigenic Foods – 56 Units (normal range is less than 10 units)
2+ and 3+ Foods (in order of least to most immunologic reactivity):
• Grains: rice, oat, corn
• Meats: pork, beef, tuna, chicken
• Nuts: walnut, cashew, almond
• Nightshades: white potato
There were no foods in the “no” or 1+ category.
Quantitative Microscopic Fecal Fat Score – 871 units (normal range is less than 300 units)
It looks like chicken is definitely a no-no as a protein. I’m thinking turkey and lamb, and possibly pork, to start with.
Both rice and white potato are problematic according to the above, although rice is the least immunological of the grains. Should I avoid both initially, or should I chance rice?
And how about bone broth made from chicken or beef. Would that be a problem?
I drink a coffee substitute every morning that is made from extracts of roasted barley, rye, chicory root, dandelion root, and sugar beet. It is gluten free. The package says all gluten from barley and rye is eliminated in the extracting process. Is this safe for me to drink on the recovery diet?
And what about coconut water? Ingredients: coconut water, less than 1% natural fruit sugar, vitamin C.
Your feedback will be most welcome and appreciated. Thanks!
[P.S.--As a new user, I must say that I find the setup of this forum a challenge to navigate. Very frustrating trying to figure out how things work. Saving a draft of this post did not work and I had to re-do. Under "Options" there is a choice of posting topic as normal or registration. I don't know what that means. The default is set at registration so I left it at that. I have no idea where this post will end up. Also I'm not sure I was able to save an avatar in my profile; I will see if it's there when I post... if I can find my post.]
My meat was lamb, elk, turkey and antelope. That sounds odd, but I had game meat in my freezer and had friends who hunted that helped me out when I ran out (it helped living in Denver).
White potatoes I won't miss as much (although I do love mashed potatoes smothered with butter) and I'll do as you did and substitute with sweet potatoes. Butter is to be avoided too I suppose? Is ghee okay to put on the sweet potatoes and other veggies instead?
