Fiber

[framedame]

Hi,
I'm still trying to figure out what to eat. I've been working so hard in eliminating gluten and can't see where I could possibly be absorbing it, however seem to have more stomach pain now. I am wondering besides going GF ( which I've been doing for celiac and now MC) and finding out about other food intolerance, what are the recommendations on vegetables and fruit, since that is a big part of my diet and may be causing some of my problems. So diet is the key to recuperating?
Lassie

[mturn2]

Hi Lassie,
I am new to the forum and having the same issues with diet. It was suggested to me that I go off of fiber as well and do know that many fruits and veggies are high in fiber. I did read today that one should have no more than 10 g of fiber in order to let the colon heal from inflammation. I plan to follow that rule to see if it makes any difference. I have been GF and DF for 3 weeks now and have same bloating and gas issues.

Good Luck,
Sondra

[Gloria]

When I was first Dx'd, I thought all I would need to do was eliminate the intolerances that Enterolab identified. As time progressed, I discovered more intolerances and eliminated them, also. I finally realized that I needed to eliminate irritants as well as intolerances. Irritants can be foods like lettuce, nuts, raw fruits and vegetables.

Now that I have even more experience, I realize that we need to eliminate all roughage so that our gut can heal. Roughage can include nut butters, grains and seeds cooked and eaten whole, granola, etc. The only grain that I eat whole is rice, and it is well-cooked. I grind all other grains so that they are either flour or fine enough that they will be soft as they pass through my gut.

Gabes recommends that we treat our gut the same as newborn babies. Introduce food slowly and make sure it is very soft, pureeing it if necessary.

Not everyone goes to this extreme, but experience tells us that the easier foods are on our gut, the faster it will heal. That should be your guide.

Gloria

[framedame]

So quinoa flakes should that be removed since it contains fiber? Home made chicken soup with cooked vegetables is that out? What about blending frozen berries and bananas for smoothies? What can I eat so I don't suffer from C. I waiver between D and C. Is there a list of recommended foods to eat, besides banana, rice, and toast (Udi), as a starting point ? I guess i haven't been able to come up with a plan of eating. I feel hungry and I can't really afford to lose weight.
Thanks
Lassie

[Linda in BC]

At first when I was really bad, I always did well on well-cooked meat, poultry or fish, rice, well-cooked "gentle" veggies like carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips (not peas or beans as they are a legume and many of us react to them and ditto for yams for some reason), a puffed rice cereal for breakfast with almond milk, or homemade rice pudding ( raisins, cinnamon, maple syrup and rice heated with a little almond milk) and bananas, rice cakes or rice crackers (with a bit of jam), avocado, and lara bars for snacks. Well cooked, homemade soups are very easy to digest so yes of course keep eating them. Some bought stocks, or soup boullions have gluten in them so it is best to make your own. I found that certain veggies would make me very gaseous ( like cabbage, broccoli, cor, and cauliflour) but i can eat them now in small quantities. Everyone seems to be a bit different with what well -cooked veggies they can eat. It is good to avoid fresh, raw veggies and fruit (especially the peel), nuts ( unless ground fine)and for some, like me , oats and quinoa are also a problem. For others they are not. You really just have to experiment a bit. Once your gut settles down a bit it becomes easier to tell when you have eaten something that really bothers you. For me, I immediately would get the " gurgles" and possibly bad gas, and if it really really bothered me, I would get pain with the gas, and soon after, D. .

Hope that helps a bit. It does take a while to find out what foods you can eat and to stock up on them. I lost ten pounds the first two months I went GF, SF, and corn free, but now am gaining.

Linda

[Gloria]

So quinoa flakes should that be removed since it contains fiber? Home made chicken soup with cooked vegetables is that out? What about blending frozen berries and bananas for smoothies?

Quinoa flakes should be OK if you cook them in water until they are very soft. Soup is great, as Linda stated. The vegetables should be very soft. Some frozen berries have seeds, and they might be irritating. Bananas should be OK.

If you consider whether the food is soft or irritating, you should be able to determine which ones would be OK. We don't usually recommend that you eat the skins on fruits or vegetables because they could have too much fiber. Soft with little fiber is the goal.

Gloria

[framedame]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions.
I saw a dietitian but she only discussed the celiac issue so I had no idea what MC is about --- not so great! Going gluten free is not a problem but eating baby food stinks. So will I ever be able to eat salads again? I did a renovation this summer on my kitchen, which was very very tiny. I've been very excited about cooking in my groovy new kitchen, but this MC has put a damper on it.
A lot of people have had the Enterolab test done on this forum. Do you have to be consuming these foods in order to test positive for them? Also by avoiding the food intolerances from the test results does that really help speed up the recovery?
Lassie

[tex]

So will I ever be able to eat salads again?

Yes, but it usually takes at least a year, and sometimes 2 or 3 years for the intestines to heal. Eating significant amounts of fiber, prior that time, prolongs and delays the healing process.

You certainly don't have to eat baby food - I never have. This disease doesn't prevent us from cooking, in fact, it is a good reason to take your cooking seriously, and learn to be creative. Those who cook all their own food, (from scratch), virtually always heal much faster than those who eat commercially processed foods, or eat away from home.

Dee's Kitchen, (Dee is a professional chef, who has MC), http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=7 contains tips for cooking, and hundreds of gourmet class recipes that are free of gluten, dairy, and soy.

Do you have to be consuming these foods in order to test positive for them?

Gluten sensitivity can be detected by the Enterolab tests for at least a year after it is withdrawn from the diet, but that does not apply to the rest of their tests. Most other foods cannot be discontinued from the diet for more than a month or two, before collecting a sample, in order to provide reliable test results.

Also by avoiding the food intolerances from the test results does that really help speed up the recovery?

The Enterolab tests are very accurate and reliable. In general, if we choose to ignore the test results, (IOW, if we do not avoid those foods), then we will not recover. Period. This disease is for keeps - there is no cure. Except for a very few extremely lucky individuals who happen to achieve spontaneous remission, without proper and effective treatment, our symptoms will typically last for the rest of our lives. The disease symptoms can be controlled, but the disease cannot be cured, and it certainly will not cure itself, by just "running it's course". Many of us here have had it for 10 or 15 years or more, and we still have to follow our treatment program, of course. The sooner we control our symptoms, the less damage we accrue to our intestines, and the easier it is to achieve remission.

Tex

[takef586]

I think you should follow the prevailing opinion on this foum, which is to start your diet with a few "safest" foods, see your reactions and only start experimenting to add new foods one at a time. In my experience, removing ALL fiber, as well as any raw foods and sugar, has been beneficial to lower the pain and practically eliminate bloating. I still only eat cooked food, including fruit and vegetables. If you will still experience pain, it might be caused by some other factors. For example, I have discovered that my abdominal pain is related to my histamine level, as anti histaminic drugs eliminate it. Another pain enhancing influence is stress, and you should probably try to incorporate a stress reducing practice in your daily routine ( a 15 min meditation). Look up "relaxation response" in the forum search. Good luck.

[Gabes-Apg]

Lassie

we have all been there, when first diagnosed trying to understand and absorb all the information about MC is overwhelming, the concept of making total changes to your eating plan is also overwhelming.

what i am saying below is said with love and a hug

Mc is for life, there is no cure, people achieve remission and even that is a fine line, as major triggers can initiate symptoms again.
every cell in our bodies is reliant on our digestion working properly. LIke a car, if you dont service it and care for it and put the right petrol in it will seize up and stop.

you dont have to eat baby food, that is my suggestion when there is increased inflammation. for me eating gooey meals meant that i slept better and had enough energy for work.

foods wise, and treatment wise and symptom wise, it comes down to my analagy, there is no right way or wrong way there is your way... based on the years of learnings from these wonderful people i took their information, figured out what worked for me.

[framedame]

Hi,
FYI I do meditation daily ( holothink and did do holosync) for years. It's been a mystery on why my blood work was positive, when I've been on a GF diet for ten years, so maybe a another contamination. I just read that sheetrock compound contains gluten. We did a big renovation this summer and fall, although i had been having bouts all year and was blaming it on whatever. I do woodworking ( mainly picture frames) kicking that idea around as a possible source. The histamines for stomach pain, peaked my interest. I have been experiencing sinus drippage in the baack of my throat and my stomach aches all the time. I've stared nasal rinses to see if this will help. Gratefully, my BM's are ok. What are the safe foods? I'm considering doing testing - Enterolab or MRT? I live in Vermont and am wondering how to go about this.
BTW should I be getting an email notifications when people respond to my post?

[takef586]

The difference between the two tests is, that Enterolab will give you results for gluten, casein, soy and yeast sensitivities, as well as a genetic test, while MRT tests will give you results to sensitivity to some 150 foods and food additives. The MRT tests seem more directed to people with occasional or less severe digestive issues and is linked with an analysis and rotation diet recommendation, while the Enterolab test is usually done by people with more severe digestive issues, and the results usually should confirm or deny the possible root causes of your disease. I think they are complimentary, and both can be done remotely.

[framedame]

Hi,
FYI I do meditation daily ( holothink and did do holosync) for years. It's been a mystery on why my blood work was positive, when I've been on a GF diet for ten years, so maybe a another contamination. I just read that sheetrock compound contains gluten. We did a big renovation this summer and fall, although i had been having bouts all year and was blaming it on whatever. I do woodworking ( mainly picture frames) kicking that idea around as a possible source. The histamines for stomach pain, peaked my interest. I have been experiencing sinus drippage in the baack of my throat and my stomach aches all the time. I've stared nasal rinses to see if this will help. Gratefully, my BM's are ok. What are the safe foods? I'm considering doing testing - Enterolab or MRT? I live in Vermont and am wondering how to go about this.
BTW should I be getting an email notifications when people respond to my post?

[tex]

BTW should I be getting an email notifications when people respond to my post?

If you want notifications, be sure to select the "Notify me when a reply is posted" option, below the posting window.

If you always want to be notified whenever someone responds to any of your posts, you can select to do that by selecting the "yes" response to the "Always notify me of replies:" option, under Preferences, in your profile. That way, you won't need to check the "Notify me when a reply is posted" option, every time you post.

Tex

[framedame]

Hi Tex,
i have both those options checked and have not received any emails notifications. I also tried to select an avatar from the gallery and couldn't get that to work either?????
Thanks
Lassie