Hello! I'm new here!

[tex]

Kim,

Regarding your question about cheese - the answer I gave in my previous response was the short answer. To expand on that, there are some "artificial" cheeses that some of us can eat. In the recipe room, for example, Dee mentions a website that sells "allergen-free" cheese, (among other products). It is here:

http://www.allergyfreefoods.com/order-products.asp

However, their products contain corn derivatives, (especially, relatively large amounts of corn starch, and a couple of smaller items that may be derived from corn). Therefore, whether or not they would adversely affect you, depends on whether or not you are corn intolerant.

Most of the commercial "cheese substitutes" that are available are based on soy, and soy is a pretty common allergen, so they're not a practical option for many/most of us.

If you want to try your hand at making your own "cheese substitute", here are some recipes that I got from the celiac forum noted below, that describe how to make Cashew Cheese. Apparently, the first recipe is from the chefs at Five Loaves Deli & Bakery, (which is considered by many to be Seattle's finest vegetarian restaurant), and they appear in a book titled Best Gourmet Recipes, by Neva Brackett. Note that all but the last recipe include nutritional yeast flakes, (in case that's a problem).

Sliceable Cashew Cheese From Five Loaves Deli & Bakery by Neva Brackett

2 cups cashew nuts
3/8 cup emes kosher gel (I'm sure regular gelatin would work)
1 ½ cups boiling water
2 Tbs. Lemon juice
2 Tbs. Yeast flakes (nutritional)
1 Tbs. Salt
1 tsp. Onion powder
½ tsp. Garlic powder
1 Cup Cold water

1. Place all ingredients in the blender except the 1 cup cold water. Turn on and blend for 1 or 2 minutes until very smooth.

Hint: Place a towel over the lid of the blender before turning on. Hot liquids tend to splash out.

2. Add 1 cup cold water, blend briefly and pour into containers of your choice to chill and slice when firm.

Hint: This recipe makes a white cheese resembling Jack cheese. If you want half of it to resemble American cheese in color, pour half of it into a 1 pint mold and blend in ¼ cup pimientos and 1 tsp. paprika to the remainder. This can be frozen, so you might want to make a double recipe and keep it handy for future use, Frozen Cashew Cheese shreds very nicely if you do it while still frozen, and makes a great topping for Pizza. To thaw, set out at room temperature for an hour. Don't try to thaw it in the microwave--it will melt and not be sliceable.

Prep time: 15 min Chill time: 4 hr or overnight.


Cashew Pimento Cheese (for pizza) From Cooking by the Book by Marcella Lynch

½ c water
½ c cashews
½ tsp. salt
2 tbs. oil
2 ½ tbs. lemon juice
1 4oz jar pimentos
½ tsp. onion salt
½ tsp. garlic salt
1 ½ tbs. nutritional yeast flakes

Whiz all ingredients together in blender until smooth. Drizzle over pizza before baking.
Melted Cheese Sauce (I use with Sliceable cheese w/o gel for mac & cheese)

From Newstart Lifestyle Cookbook by Weimar Institute

2 cups water
¼ cup clean, raw cashews
4 ounce jar pimentos
3 tbs. food yeast flakes
2 tbs. cornstarch or arrowroot
1 tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 ½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. onion flakes or powder
¼ tsp. garlic powder

Process cashews in about ½ cup of the water in a blender until very smooth. Add remaining water and other ingredients and continue blending until very smooth. Simmer in a heavy saucepan until thickened, stirring constantly (5-6 minutes). Pour over vegetables, potatoes, tortilla chips etc.

Variations: for Cheese Fondue or Cheese Spread increase cornstarch or arrowroot to 3 tablespoons.

Nacho Cheese Sauce (also from Newstart)

1 cup clean, raw cashews
1 cup hot water
2 ounce jar pimentos
1 tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. paprika
Chili powder to taste

Process cashews and hot water in a blender until very smooth. Add remaining ingredients and continue blending until very smooth. Pour into saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Serve over chips, if desired.

http://www.glutenfreeforum.com/index.ph ... opic=21880

Here is one more completely different recipe that appears to have possibilities, (I haven't tried any of these):

Adjust the proportions to your taste and desire for gelled-up quality (more gelatin equals a more solid, gelled consistency)

Gently heat:
Canned coconut milk (can find this in any asian grocery store)

When it is simmering, stir in:
Some plain gelatin
Some garlic powder and onion powder and Sea Salt .

Stir until the gelatin dissolves, then chill.

I would think that any of us would be able to safely eat this last one, unless, of course, the garlic powder or onion powder is a problem.

Tex

[Dee]

Thanks Tex for supplying some alternatives to some cheeses.
I think I'm going to give some of these a try.
Will post on the end result when I do...

Love

Dee~~~

[tex]

Thanks Dee,



I'm looking forward to your opinion on them, (and I'll bet I'm not the only one).

Love,
Tex

[crranch]

Come on Dee, my kitchen hero .......I'm going to wimp out on trying them until I hear from someone with more kitchen chops than me....I trust you much more than I do my own ability on this stuff..

Hugs,
Carrie

[Dee]

I'll go tomorrow to get what I need to make the sliced cashew cheese.
First, I'll make the one that supposed to resemble Jack cheese.
Then, I'll use half where you add the pimentos & paprika.
If all goes well, I'll report on Tuesday.

Love
Dee~~~~

[MaggieRedwings]

Morning and Welcome Kim,

Not much I can add to what has already been said. I have been on Entocort starting last August and saw great results until I went to maintenance dosage and am now working to get the right dosage to kee the D at bay.

There are a few vegan, GF sauces out there - Soy & Worchestire made by a company called Wizard and you can find them in a healthfood or natural foods store. Use them every now and then.

There are many, many years of experience with this disease and trial and error at this site. Feel free to ask anything since at least one of us has been there.

Welcome again.

Maggie

[Gloria]

Welcome Kim ,
I've been on Entocort for 9 months and have had no side effects as far as I can tell. I'm intolerant to multiple foods, so achieving remission hasn't been easy for me. Norman appears one day, Georgie Porgie (puddin' pie) another day, D another day, with no apparent pattern. But I still think Entocort has allowed me to live a normal life because I only make a couple of trips to the bathroom a day and they are usually not urgent. I'm maintaining this level of control with 6 mg. of Entocort per day.

Be sure to read the numerous posts from the different groups. Chances are, your questions have already been addressed.

Gloria

[harvest_table]

My questions for you:

1--Have you ever had upper GI symptoms as part of your MC? What were they like?
2--Do you know of any connection between MC and high eosinophil count? (Other than the predisposition toward other autoimmune diseases)
3--Which tests from Enterolab should I get? The entire $370 panel? Whatever it takes, but it seems I'd have to order even more to look at ALL possible food intolerances
4--Any other musings on my case?

Thanks for reading....

Hi Kim and Welcome!

There seems to be a connection between MC and high eosinophil counts, IMO. Awhile back, when Shirley was having problems and DX with Barrett's I came across a couple of blogs by the food doc you might be interested in reading if you haven't seen them already.

http://thefooddoc.blogspot.com/2007/03/ ... gitis.html

http://thefooddoc.blogspot.com/search?q ... +be+missed.

You mentioned that your EE/EG dx was confirmed by a biopsy- was there any mention of "mast cells" in your first report? It's also curious this DX is now in question isn't it? I guess thats good news though.

Here is a pubmed study about Microscopic colitis triggered by food allergies

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articl ... d=15647205

By the way, do you have CC or LC? Thanks for sharing your story and hope things turn around for you soon.

Joanna

[tex]

Joanna,

Wow! The second and third articles that you cited are awesome! The second article by the Food Doc contains some absolutely great information on diagnostic criteria, and general information pertaining to how lymphocytes, eosinophils, and mast cells, relate to the IBDs, (and other digestive system issues, of course). Great information!

That PubMed article is interesting, too,especially this observation:

Eosinophils are highly susceptible to steroids which may explain the good response of collagenous colitis to budesonide.

Veeeeeeeeeeery interesting. The response to treatment, (in table 2), was virtually phenomenal. I notice that one patient had 0 BMs after treatment - I guess he's getting to be pretty good sized by now. LOL.

I also find it very interesting that fully a third of them were allergic to corn, (maize).

Thanks for posting that. Those are great additions to my bookmarks on MC research.

Love,
Tex

[harvest_table]

Tex,

This info is also intrigues me- MC seems to intertwine to so many issues. Has there been a discussion here on food intolerance vs food allergies?

In summary, a subgroup of patients with microscopic colitis suffer from food allergy. Further work up for allergy is sensible in those patients with a history of atopic disease or blood/tissue eosinophilia. Allergen elimination can decrease or abolish the need for medication. Antiallergic therapy can be added to the therapeutic regimen

Above quote is also from that 3rd link, and Kim and a number of others here might well fall into that subgroup of MCr's with food allergies. Whats interesting is her original EE/EG DX is now in question since her eosinophils levels are much lower, probably due to a good response to the SAD diet she ate for a couple months.

I also find it very interesting that fully a third of them were allergic to corn, (maize)

Ah, said like a true corn farmer! Interesting is right!


Love,
Joanna

[kimpatt]

I can't wait to read those articles!! As it is, I MUST get in bed or I'll HATE myself in the morning!
I did just have another CBC 2 days ago, so it will be interesting to see what that Eos number is. I'll be sure to report.
I also just spent $500 on Enterolab's full gluten panel & also the corn test by them...so we'll see what that says.

This is embarrassing...I forgot which type of MC I have, but I *think* it's collagenous. Will double check.

You may have noticed that my food allergy list is long; I keep *hoping* that I'll desensitize to some of them at some point. It also seemed that while I was on the SCD, I was able to eat some of their 'legal' foods that I am 'allergic' to. I remember eating celery, tons of lettuce, watermelon...

So, could it be that I may test negative for all of Enterolab's tests (gluten, milk, corn 'intolerance'), and that what I really have is an ALLERGY to them? What's the difference?

I have noticed that since I paid closer attention to my GF/CF foods and noticed many of them have corn in them (Almond milk, Kinnikinnick products ) & eliminated those, I've felt much better. No immodium needed today. I DID notice, though, that when I accidentally (but not really--just testing it!) had some kale with tamari (soy) sauce, I had tummy gurgles, gas, and BM (not loose though). I also noticed that I had no D/tummy upset after tonight's dessert of Rice Dream, Enjoy Life choc chips (casein, gluten, corn, soy-free!!), & Enjoy Life cookies (free of my allergens, also)!!!!

Whereas last night, I had Rice Dream w/ Pamela's Cookies which DO have soy lecithin....GRRRR....and I didn't feel as well!!!

Looks like Enjoy Life brand and Rice Dream may be it for me for dessert! Hey, it beats having to make homemade sorbet and almond-flour brownies! I'll take it!!

Willl read articles & post on Eos soon.

[tex]

Kimberly,

The basic differences between an allergy and an intolerance, are primarily in the way that the body reacts. Allergies cause a histamine-based reaction, including itching, sneezing, watery eyes, and the possibility of anaphylaxis, (anaphylactic shock). Food intolerances, on the other hand, normally cause none of those symptoms, but do cause a disruption in normal digestive system processes - most commonly resulting in bloating and diarrhea, but occasionally resulting in constipation. Allergic responses are immediate - within a matter of minutes, sometimes only seconds, whereas intolerances normally take hours, (or days), to present symptoms.

I realize that some of our members react to gluten within as little as ten minutes, but I suspect that they are also allergic to it, in addition to being intolerant. A typical gluten intolerance reaction normally takes about six hours or longer to develop. If anyone disagrees with my estimate, please don't hesitate to correct me.

I think it's safe to assume that if you are allergic to a food item, you will produce antibodies in your intestines, which will be detected by Enterolab's stool tests, but that's just my opinion - I have no proof of that.

It's interesting that you could eat lettuce without problems, while on the SCD. That's one item that most of us could not tolerate at all, until out gut healed.

Tex

[harvest_table]

Hi Kimberly,

You mentioned you had suffered from both D and Constipation for many years- have you noticed any significant relief from the C since you are now eliminating the foods you are allergic too?

Here's more about CC/allergies to read

Our hypothesis was to test whether collagenous colitis might be related to food allergy.

Patient sera were analysed for common food antigens. Our data support the hypothesis that patients with collagenous colitis have laboratory and/or clinical evidence of food allergy: the high frequency of specific antibodies to food antigens and the increased total IgE levels imply a possible connection between collagenous colitis and food allergy and suggest a possible reason for the paradox of diarrhoea-constipation.

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articl ... id=1773752

Take Care,

Joanna

[tex]

Joanna,

Another excellent article!

This article, (and others that you cited earlier), discusses "delayed reactions", but still considers the reactions to be due to an allergic mechanism. IOW, their "definition" preempts the concept of food "intolerances", and replaces it with the term "allergies", even though the reactions don't fit the definition of a classic allergic reaction. Hmmmmmmmm.

For example, allergy (food allergy), a great mimic, can cause both diarrhoea and constipation. Diseases or symptoms (that is, food protein induced enterocolitis, diarrhoea, or constipation) involving the gastrointestinal system have been attributed to hypersensitivity reactions to food.3–6 Many of these symptoms reflect the concept of “delayed” reactions. This notion presumes that certain clinical symptoms reflect allergies to food which develop over a period of hours or days (or longer) and are caused by immunological mechanisms other than immediate type hypersensitivity.

The red emphasis is mine, of course, and I don't have a problem with the time frame, (while it's true that most allergic reactions occur in seconds or minutes, there is no law that says they can't take longer), but the reason why I think that a reaction of this type does not meet the definition of an allergic reaction, is because, of all the generally accepted symptoms of an allergic reaction, only four apply. IOW, from all these common symptoms,


Common symptoms of mild allergic reactions include:

* Rashes
* Hives (especially over the neck and face)
* Itching
* Nasal congestion
* Watery, red eyes

Symptoms that may indicate a moderate or severe reaction include:

* Swelling of the face, eyes, or tongue
* Difficulty swallowing
* Wheezing
* Fear or feeling of apprehension or anxiety
* Abdominal cramps or abdominal pain
* Nausea and vomiting
* Weakness
* Dizziness or light-headedness
* Chest discomfort or tightness
* Difficulty breathing
* Unconsciousness

the only four that are present with food intolerances, are rashes, (as in dermititis herpetiformis), abdominal cramps or abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, and weakness. Well, when your gut is inflammed, and not capable of properly digesting food, so that it ferments and generally rots, it's not surprising that abdominal pain and nausea will be the result. Likewise, if chronic diarrhea is present, weakness is a natural result.

The point is, while some form of allergic reaction/s may be present, the symptoms certainly do not fit the classic pattern of an allergic reaction any better than a coincidental relationship. The bottom line is, unless the "powers that be" are willing to change the classic definition of an allergic reaction, I see no reason to stop thinking of this phenomenon as a "food intolerance."

OK, now the questions that I have are:

1. Why have we pretty much overlooked this concept, and not explored it for so many years?

2. Is CC the only form of MC that exhibits eosinophil infiltration and degranulation, or is it simply the only one that has been investigated?

3. If this is true, does it apply to all CC cases?

4. Probably the "real" question here is, "Are elevated eosinophil levels present only with classic "allergic" reactions", or are they also connected with various autoimmune reactions?"

Tex

[Polly]

Interesting discussion. Am on the run but will weigh in to say that I have LC and did not have any eosinophils on 2 colon biopsies, five years apart -only lymphocytes. Also, I have never had elevated eosinophils on blood tests (CBC). During my year-long sinus infection, I had no eosinophils on any of 4 or 5 different occasions when the sinus pus was examined under the microscope. (Not surprising, as I am sure the sinus infection was caused by a dental procedure and not allergies).