Help! What can I eat?

[mod12]

I am currently on a keto, close to carnivore diet. I have lymphocytic colitis. My enterolab results are as follows:

Quantitative Microscopic Fecal Fat Score 1912 Units (Normal Range is less than 300 Units)

Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA 45 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-casein (cow’s milk) IgA 113 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-ovalbumin (chicken egg) IgA 62 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-soy IgA 73 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Mean Value 11 Antigenic Foods 76 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

While all of the foods tested can be immune-stimulating, the hierarchy of reactions detected were as follows:

Food to which there was no significant immunological reactivity: Food to which there was some immunological reactivity (1+): Food to which there was moderate immunological reactivity (2+):Rice, Oat, Beef, Pork, Tuna, Walnut, Cashew Food to which there was significant and/or the most immunological reactivity (3+):Corn, Chicken, Almond, White Potato

Obviously, my main diet which now consists of Beef, Pork, Tuna, Herring, Cheese and Eggs has to change. A few months back when I was diagnosed I had diarrhea many times a day. Through this ketovore diet, they have turned into soft stools. No gluten, no sugar, no vegetable oils, little to no carbs. It seems I have to get stricter.

The fat absorption concerns me. Could that be due to the amount of fat I am eating or should I have my pancreas checked?


Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[tex]

Hi,

Welcome to the board. Looking at your results in general, you must have been reacting for a long time, to get such high scores.

Regarding your fat malabsorption score, that test is based on a diet with normal fat consumption, so yes, if there were higher than normal amounts of fat in your diet when you collected the test sample, the results would be skewed. That said, many of us have an inflamed pancreas (and various other organs) when our MC is active, so our pancreatic enzymes are limited until the inflammation is reduced, but those issues are resolved automatically as we get our MC symptoms under control.

If you're on a keto diet, you're on the right track, but it will probably take a while to resolve your symptoms with antibody levels that high. For meats, you'll need to switch to wild-type, or at least uncommon meats. By wild-type, I mean normally wild species, even though they might be farm or ranch raised, these days. Safe meats include turkey, lamb, venison, rabbit, duck, goose, pheasant quail, antelope, etc. Bison are not safe because these days they all contain DNA from domestic cattle. Meat from old world buffalo should be safe.

If you're eating an all-meat diet, be sure that you get enough fat to maintain good health (and prevent rabbit starvation), as that would cause diarrhea.

Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.

Tex

[mod12]

Thanks so much for the quick reply. I guess my question is after eliminating cheese and eggs, there's nothing left but meat. If I am eliminating all sensitive foods can I add back some low carb vege's and fruits. Since they weren't tested, I'm not sure if this is a good idea. Will they retard remission. Thanks again

[tex]

Vegetables such as carrots, squash (peeled), cauliflower, rutabaga, and possibly sweet potatoes are usually safe for most of us, but your sensitivity level is so high that there are no guarantees. The problem with fruit is fiber, fructose, and sorbitol content. You might be able to tolerate a banana now and then, otherwise, the only fruit likely to work would be something like canned peaches or pears. Some MC patients can tolerate baked apples or applesauce, but the malic acid might be a problem. We're in uncharted waters here.

Tex

[mod12]

So it sounds like I should stick to just meat and fat, salt and water. Thanks again. You are so generous with your time and knowledge.

[tex]

Don't let me talk you out of adding a few vegetables if you want. Only certain proteins can cause the immune system to produce antibodies (with one exception — the sugar galactose, which causes mammalian eat allergy). Carbs may be difficult to digest, because our ability to produce the needed enzymes is compromised when out gut is inflamed. But they don't cause the production of antibodies, which means that they shouldn't add to long-term inflammation, as long as we discontinue eating them at the first signs of problems. The biggest risk from them is getting too much fiber in our diet, because fiber is very irritating to our colon when our gut is inflamed.

Tex

[mod12]

If I could pick your brain one last time. When tuna shows sensitivity, does one extrapolate that to all fish or just tuna?

[tex]

That's a good question, because it often is also associated with a sensitivity to salmon and other fish, but it duesn't guarantee that all fish will be a problem. For example, freshwater fish might be a possibility. Unless you're allergic to shellfish otherwise, often shrimp, prawns, oysters, clams, mussels, etc. are safe for many of us.

Tex

[ldubois7]

In reading this post and considering my fat malabsorption issues have continued for the 9 years since my colitis diagnoses, and that I now am considered to have osteoporosis, I’m wondering about BAM. I’d never heard of it, but with my tiredness issues, I have to think that I’m not absorbing nutrients.

Could there be permanent damage to the villi that I can’t reverse? Are my safe foods really safe? I’ve stepped up my digestive enzymes, and that’s helped a bit, but the bloat continues....

[tex]

These thoughts come to mind:

Bloating is basically caused by the following chain of events.

1. Incomplete digestion due to insufficient stomach acid, a necessary enzyme, or inflammation

2. Fermentation of the partially-digested food, or indigestible content in the diet (such as fiber or sugar alcohols), with the assistance of opportunistic bacteria

Maybe you're not producing enough stomach acid. Have you tried Betaine HCL. If you've got BAM, you should have diarrhea. Have you tried cholestyramine? I'm no expert on the digestive system, but I seriously doubt that you would have intestinal villous damage that was incapable of healing. If healing is not progressing, surely it's because of some problem that's causing inflammation, or an inflammation-related issue.

Healing is controlled by the immune system, so this is assuming that your immune system is healthy, and working properly.

Tex

[ldubois7]

Hi Tex!

Thank you for your response.

I don’t have diarrhea, as a matter of fact since I upped the enzymes, and added blueberry fiber, I have normal bowel movements with some constipation occasionally.

I used to take Betaine HCL, and still take it occasionally, but I thought I didn’t need it anymore. Maybe I need to add that back.

My immune system seems to be ok.

I have to eat small meals, but I keep wondering if it’s my diet as I eat nuts (according to Enterolab results). But, the bloat happen daily and not only after certain meals.

I’ll give the betaine another shot.

Thank you!

[tex]

Trying the Betaine again may be a good idea. At least that will rule out that issue. Without diarrhea, I don't see how you could have BAM, unless I'm overlooking some remote possibility.

Tex