salicylic acids

[ldubois7]

Does anyone have a reputable source that lists low/moderate/high levels of salicylates in foods?

I keep finding conflicting reports!

Also, I have been grain free since June 2 and just get so hungry sometimes. I have made crackers from nuts, but feel I'm consuming too many nuts now. What suggestions do you have for a grain to start with....buckwheat? sorghum?

Thanks!

[Leah]

White rice. Of course we are all different, but i think many of us can eat rice. For me, my tummy actually feels best when I eat it. I feel best when I eat a protein and some rice. I sometimes cook it in a combination of coconut milk and chicken broth. yum!

leah

[ldubois7]

Leah,

Unfortunately rice was my highest no-no on the Enterolab test!

[tex]

Linda,

Buckwheat is not a grain, nor is quinoa or amaranth. Millet is another less-common grain option that's somewhat similar to sorghum. Hegari is another special type of sorghum (that most people have never heard of, but there's a 10 acre field of it growing less than half a mile from where I'm sitting right now).

Have you seen the lists for salicylic acid content of various foods at this site?

Salicylate Free Diet

Tex

[ldubois7]

I tested yellow for millet on MRT, so I'm avoiding it. I have never tried buckwheat or amaranth to bake with, but I did have distress from quinoa. I can't use almond flour either.

Tex... if they are not grains, then are they grasses? I was trying to help the healing process & possible leaky gut by avoiding all grains for a while. I need a little more substance in my diet because I'm only eating meat/veggies & nuts right now.

What flour do think I should start with?

And, thanks for the site....I've been driving myself crazy trying to find low salicylic & histamine foods! I'm only eating carrots, celery, & green beans right now.

[tex]

Tex... if they are not grains, then are they grasses?

No, all cereal grains are grasses (even corn, believe it or not), whereas most gluten-free alternatives are not grasses. Of course some of the GF alternatives, such as millet and sorghum, are grasses, obviously.

Buckwheat is related to rhubarb. Quinoa is closely related to species such as beetroots, spinach, and tumbleweeds. And amaranth are broadleaf plants, unrelated to the cereal grains. Most of the amaranth plants in the U. S. grow as annual weeds (known as pigweed).

What flour do think I should start with?

Now that's a tough question. Gloria is the resident flour expert, so hopefully she will notice your question the next time she logs on, and offer some suggestions. We have a few other members who also have a lot of experience baking with "exotic" flours, so maybe they'll offer some suggestions. The problem with me offering suggestions is that I'm not a baker.

As with avoiding histamine buildup, I would assume that the primary goal with salicylates is also to minimize the overall daily dose of salicylates. IOW, if any of the foods that you are eating have anything greater than a low amount, then your goal would be to eat less of those particular foods, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you would have to avoid them entirely. Of course, I'm just assuming that salicylates affect us similarly to histamines (in that it's the total daily dosage that counts), but I don't know that for a fact.

Tex

[ldubois7]

That's so interesting.... quinoa is related to spinach, and spinach is very high in salicylates, and I can not tolerate quinoa.

I believe you're right about salicylates building up in our systems just as histamines, and I have been trying to avoid them for now, but I should add a small amount daily, for the nutritional value.

I'll pm Gloria.

Thanks for helping me to understand the different grains/grasses/plants.

[tex]

Gloria usually logs on later most nights, except when she's traveling.

Lesley also has a lot of experience baking with unconventional flours, and there are others whose names I can't recall at the moment.

You're most welcome,
Tex

[Gloria]

Hi Linda,

I thought I'd post my response here.

Here is a list of the exact amount of salicyates in foods: http://failsafediet.wordpress.com/the-r ... -of-foods/ Anne Swain published a list of the amounts in 1985. Most lists seem to be based upon her original list. You can do a search using her name and salicyates and get links to other lists.

I can understand your desire to add more "bulk" to your diet, especially when you can't eat eggs, rice, white, or sweet potatoes because I'm in the same situation. Luckily, I can eat almond and corn flour, and they have been my salvation.

I tried almost all of the GF flours such as amaranth, buckwheat, rice, teff, quinoa, sorghum, and millet, but eventually all of them bothered me. Buckwheat is very easy to convert to flour by grinding it in a blender. If you decide to test it, make cereal with it first. Be sure to buy the white buckwheat, not the roasted, because it has a much milder taste.

Before you begin testing various flours, you should first test the starch that you'll need to use in combination with them. Some common starches are potato starch, tapioca starch, arrowroot flour and cornstarch. Since you can't eat potatoes or corn, you're left with arrowroot flour and tapioca starch to test. I would test arrowroot flour by making pudding using the following recipe: http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=12745 . It doesn't have a great taste, but it will serve the purpose of telling you if you can tolerate arrowroot.

Tapioca flour, which is much cheaper than arrowroot, can be tested by making tapioca pudding or buying Chebe bread, which is made with tapioca flour. You have to be careful buying tapioca pearls because the Minute tapioca contains soy. Whole Foods sells a soy-free brand.

Once you've determined which starch you can use, you can begin testing GF flours. I would test them by making muffins, which have few ingredients. That is how I discovered I couldn't handle each of the flours I eliminated.

You can also try using different nut flours. I know you can't eat almonds, but Leslie uses chestnut flour for her baking and she also can't eat eggs. Here is a thread on Paleo muffins where she discusses how she baked her version of the muffins with chestnut flour: http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=16412 . I would imagine you could substitute almond flour with chestnut flour in a muffin recipe. Leslie can probably give you more information on where to buy the flour and what type of binder works well with it. Arrowroot and tapioca are both good binders. I don't use any other binder, such as xanthan gum, in my almond muffins and they don't crumble. I also make pancakes and waffles without xanthan gum or eggs.

Gloria