How to (re)introduce foods when stable?

[mle_ii]

Ok, lets say for instance I'm stable, now I want to figure out what foods I can add back to my diet. How do I go about doing this?

Do I need to make sure I'm stable for certain number of days before hand?
How many days might I introduce the food for?
How much of it should I try?
Should I only do one food at a time?
How many days after I introduce a new food should I wait before trying something else? (That is, if the food didn't cause problems)
If I found a new food is ok, should I consider that part of my stable diet or should I go back to my original stable diet to introduce another new food?
What reactions/symptoms should I use to gauge my results?
How should I decide what foods to start with? Favorite foods (without intollerances), nutritious foods (higher in vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc) or some other evaluation?
For those who did food trials, what worked and what did not?

Thanks,
Mike

[annie oakley]

Hi Mike, I don't know about anyone else......but when I introduce a new food...I use my stable diet but will add one food and use the stable diet for a week or until the food irritates...if it doesn't irritate I add another food keeping both new foods to see if they interact well. There are some foods I only eat ocassionally anyway, since I was diagnosed with MC ..moderation seems to be my key. Love Oma

[Lucy]

Mike,

I would say that since you've had the testing, and only gluten showed up, unless there's something that you didn't test for, what you need to do is to only use certified gf foods, a list of which you can get from various celiac sites, or possibly from a local celiac group.

This way, if you keep your diet fairly simple, you'll likely begin to see at least gradual improvement with no setback over time. Think you'd still best leave out anything that MIGHT have lactose, at least til you're gut is healed, but that shouldn't be all that hard, I don't think. If it would be simpler for you, you could just leave out dairy (other than eggs, of course), but there are, as you know, lactose free products in most stores nowadays.

Later, if you're TESTING a previously untried something or other from the store, and there are no words that might mean gluten in the ingredients, then you might want to separate this out by using it only with things you're pretty sure are on the approved list or that you've established a history of no problems with that has no listed no-no's on the label.

Remember that since you're not having problems with casein, apparently, if you have a reaction to lactose, it would likely be within a couple of hours after ingesting it. However, this CAN be confusing as you might not be able to tell whether it was the result of something you'd eaten 24 hours ago, and the food you just ate produced the results of yesterday's actions. Hope this makes sense.

Why don't you just work on eating only KNOWN gf foods for now? If you have to buy from the WFs gf bakery line at their stores til you get the hang of it, it would be expensive, but it would buy you time til you've had more time to find recipes for things your really like. Have you ever tried any of the gf cookies? I used to like some of the Midel's brand, and Barbara's makes lots of gf cookies as well. Now I can't have them due to egg reactions most of the time.
SEE...you're LUCKY!

Btw, Mike, I've been having trouble with the webtv all day today. Maybe it's cause the system's too busy earlier in the day, who knows???

Take it easy, and I do mean EASY, ok!
Yours, Luce

[moremuscle]

Hi Mike,

I think the information you've received is good.

I assume you aren't thinking about reintroducing any foods that contain gluten?! That would be a big mistake since you tested positive for gluten intolerance.

As far as I see your diet you have recently had reactions to some food you ate (last week end) so I would not say you are stabil yet. Stabil means several weeks of being w/o reactions if not several months IMHO.

Your diet is already so varied that I don't quite understand what you are going to reintroduce?! LOL! Aren't you already eating pretty much everything except things w/gluten?

I think you would be better off thinking about how to simplify your diet even more than it is until you get a good grip on what is going on with your body - until your symptoms or reactions diasppear. What is the big rush to reintroduce? Keep in mind that it is your health and well being that is important; not so much how "normal" of a diet you can eat. Like Lucy said; you're LUCKY!! (and I'm a little jealous of that). It will all come together for you; the sooner you simplify your diet the sooner you will see stability in your gut and overall health. Is it the dairy products that are so seductive?????

Love,
Karen

[mle_ii]

Thanks for all the great information. You guys are so !

[mle_ii]

Hi Mike,

I think the information you've received is good.

I assume you aren't thinking about reintroducing any foods that contain gluten?! That would be a big mistake since you tested positive for gluten intolerance.

No way, gluten no more! In fact I never tried to introduce it last week. Got snuck in and I found out after the fact.

As far as I see your diet you have recently had reactions to some food you ate (last week end) so I would not say you are stabil yet. Stabil means several weeks of being w/o reactions if not several months IMHO.

Your diet is already so varied that I don't quite understand what you are going to reintroduce?! LOL! Aren't you already eating pretty much everything except things w/gluten?

I was going to introduce those things that people mentioned I take out (non-gluten) including fruits, veggies, nuts, some dairy (yogurt, cheese).

How doyou get your calcium by the way?

I think you would be better off thinking about how to simplify your diet even more than it is until you get a good grip on what is going on with your body - until your symptoms or reactions diasppear. What is the big rush to reintroduce? Keep in mind that it is your health and well being that is important; not so much how "normal" of a diet you can eat. Like Lucy said; you're LUCKY!! (and I'm a little jealous of that). It will all come together for you; the sooner you simplify your diet the sooner you will see stability in your gut and overall health. Is it the dairy products that are so seductive?????

Love,
Karen

The rush to reintroduce is just that for health reasons. Since I've been told to stay away from vitamins by some here I need to get the vitamins and minerals somehow. And only need to do it for health reasons not just to be by the numbers. I know how truly lucky I am, though I still get pretty depressed when I get sick as I can't be there for my family as much.

Thanks for all of the help,
Mike

[moremuscle]

Hi Mike,

I know, getting sick is a real depresser, isn't it I think you'll be doing much better very soon so you can be active and participate in everything with your kids and wife just like it used to be before MC. You've come such a long way and you are so dedicated to figuring it out - how can you possibly fail? Just try to view the set backs as a small hump on the road - that's all it is. Nothing to get too depressed about, OK?!

Mike, I think I get my calcium from the food I eat. I eat quite a few dark leafy veggies with my meat. I use frozen varieties of green beans, collard greens, spinach etc.

I once found a site that had a good explanation of how to get calcium that the body can absorb and utilize from food sources other than dairy. I don't remember the link right now but I will try to find it for you on the old board.

Love,
Karen

[mle_ii]

Hi Mike,

I know, getting sick is a real depresser, isn't it I think you'll be doing much better very soon so you can be active and participate in everything with your kids and wife just like it used to be before MC. You've come such a long way and you are so dedicated to figuring it out - how can you possibly fail? Just try to view the set backs as a small hump on the road - that's all it is. Nothing to get too depressed about, OK?!

Mike, I think I get my calcium from the food I eat. I eat quite a few dark leafy veggies with my meat. I use frozen varieties of green beans, collard greens, spinach etc.

I once found a site that had a good explanation of how to get calcium that the body can absorb and utilize from food sources other than dairy. I don't remember the link right now but I will try to find it for you on the old board.

Love,
Karen

Thanks Karen!

Yeah, I have come a long way. Luckily I found you guys. I can't imagine those poor folks who don't have this resource, or even realise that they have a disease. I thought that D was a normal part of life. Ack!

I do get some calcium from the spinach I ate, but I noticed I had to eat quite a bit of green veggies in order to get near the 1000mg of Calcium for RDA. And I know that more than this is better for you.

Here are some numbers:
1 cup spinach = 30% RDA
1 cup collard = 36%
1 cup string beans = 7%

So I'd have to eat around 3.5 cups of spinach a day. That's a lot of fiber, 21 grams worth. Yikes! But then there sure are a lot of vitamins and minerals in that.

[Lucy]

Mike,

Being a male and doing lots of wt bearing exercise is in your favor.
I'm wondering if I'm getting enough calcium in my diet as there's no way I can eat enough veggies, and I have such a hard time getting the vits down while I've still got enough food in my tummy, especially since I basically just have one meal big enough to take vits/minerals on or I'm afraid it'll make me nauseated.

By the time I get through doing follow-up care on Mom after she eats, the stomach's empty again, so I'm missing that one opportunity to get the vits n stuff down.

Mom is still ambulatory, but on really strict fall precautions, and insists on getting up as soon as she's through eating (before I get through). Guess it's her dementia from PD, but the fact that she's deaf doesn't help me convince her to sit a little longer, and besides, lots of times it's the peristalsis sending her to the potty when she's just eaten, but most of the time, it's just to tinkle. Now, back to the point of all this...

I did recently purchase a bottled liquid form of Calcium, thinking that it might give me a little jump start on absorbing it. It also has Magnesium, etc. included.
It's by Blue Bonnet (I bought at Whole Foods) in a glass bottle.

I really should do the bone density test anyway as it's been over 10 yrs. I believe in doing the version that includes the hip joint, and not just the one that does, say, just an ankle, but then I guess if that's all one CAN do, that would be better than none.

Perhaps in your case, since you do weight bearing exercises, you'd be ok just taking a good calcium supplement in the more readily useable forms rather than JUST magnesium oxide which is the form of magnesium that's in Milk of Magnesia. Somehow, I don't really think you want THAT effect right now! Ha! One thing about the HF stores is that they seem to carry more of the more bio-available forms of things. Oh, and calcium citrate is supposed to be a very absorbable form of calcium.

If you're not sure about a particular brand, what you can do is to google the brand name, and see if there's a contact listed, like an e-mail or 800 no.

At any rate, if your doc knows that you've got a malaborption issue, then he might want to suggest how you go about supplementing for poor absorption of fat soluble things, including calcium.

It will be up to you to make sure the supplement that you take is gf, but perhaps you could find something gf that's more reasonably priced than what some of us with more "allergens" to be on the lookout for have to buy. Also, you'd have more choices in terms of where you could purchase these.

One word of warning is that if you drink carbonated drinks, that phosphate stuff will pull the calcium right out of your body, so those are probably counterproductive to your attempts to increase your calcium intake.

OK, need to move along. Yours, Luce

[mle_ii]

Hi Luce,

Yeah, I think that my weightlifting probably helps a lot as far as bone density goes. I think I might just try supplementing with my multi for a while and see how I feel. Just got over the flu (I think it was the flu) and my GI isn't quite back to stable yet.

I bet it's tough to have to deal with your disease and to take care of your mom. You must be a very strong person to do that.

Thanks for the thoughts and info,
Mike

[mle_ii]

I'm curious, I was going to start eating more dairy to get calcium, now I'm not so sure. Though I might take yogurt every once in a while to get the good bacteria.

How often should I consume yogurt to maintain these good bacteria yet limit my dairy intake?

Thanks,
Mike

[barbaranoela]

Hiya Mike----as others have said I do the same-----introduce one new thing and give it a weeks try out---
If nothing erupts then I know there is something else I can addto my diet--

I cherish being able to tolerate the foods that caused me *D* and now I can enjoy looking and eating a new item on my dinner plate--
If,I see I am getting a little *loosey* then I stop for a few days----and start again--

good luck with your venture--
luv Barbara

[Polly]

Hi Mike!

The super article that Karen referred to is called "Factors that Inhibit Calcium Absorption" by Ron Hoggan and Don Wiss. It can be found at:

www.paleodiet.com/losspts.txt

I notice that Karen has already put this reference in the Links Room. It is excellent.

Don't forget that calcium-fortifed drinks are a good source too - Welch's 100% grape juice has a calcium-fortified option, as does Musselman's 100% pure apple juice. O.J. and V-8 can be fortified too.

Love,

Polly

[mle_ii]

Anyone know anything about the bacteria question dealing with yogurt that I had?

[Polly]

Not sure. I know the Culturelle that Dr. Fine used to recommend had 10 billion colonies of lactobacillus, and you take one a day.

Remember, despite what the dairy industry wants you to believe, milk products are not always the most efficient way to get calcium. I know we have been brainwashed to believe that we can't have healthy teeth and bones without dairy, but, the truth is.......the higher the protein load, the more calcium that will be excreted by the body. And dairy products have a high protein load, especially compared with vegetable sources.

Polly