Hi everyone,
I read the link from Tex about the leaky gut and I'm putting that together with Dr. Fine's recommendation to use probiotics to heal the gut.
My problem is that I didn't react well to the acidopholis that i tried even tho the bottle saidit was free of all common food allergens. This is not surprising to me because i can rarely tolerate any medication. Even before LC I could not even tolerate a child's dose of cold medicine, and two sips of wine would leave me having difficulty walking.
From reading around the forum, I feel like my system is most similar to Polly's. So I' m wondering if there is a more gentle way of getting the good bacteria into the gut. I'm learning that sugars and simple carbs feed the bad ones..... so i've cut out the teaspoon of maple syrup i put on my morning rice cereal. Thats all the sugar that i'm eating. I'm afraid to cut out the rice and potatoes as my weight takes a nose dive. But i'm being careful to eat them with protein.
After my surgery in Nov. 2006, I had problems in the hospital and they were always in putting who knows in my IV. After the hospital they assumed I had c-diff and put me on flagyl for 3 weeks. So i know my good bacteria have taken a hit.
So....is there something else I can try to get the good bacteria back...or will this happen on its own over time. Also , other sites talk about a low fat diet being helpful.....I'm using olive oil and flax seed oil....I usually pour a couple of teaspoons on each meal. Is this bad or do you think they mean low fat as in no fried foods or fatty meats and heavy desserts?
Sorry this is so long...I so appreciate everyones help,
Cristi
healing the gut
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Hi Cristi,
Me, too. Haven't found a probiotic that doesn't make me sick. I thought I might try taking inulin, and FOS that is supposed to feed the good bacteria, but not the bad. I'm still researching it, though. Other than that, I do what you do, and cut out sugars and carbs when possible.
Some people eat sourkraut, Bubbies brand in particular. Fermented foods can help the good bacteria, and introduce bacteria into the gut. I believe you have to eat sourkraut that has the live bacteria, though, and that's why Bubbies is good.
Love, Marsha
Me, too. Haven't found a probiotic that doesn't make me sick. I thought I might try taking inulin, and FOS that is supposed to feed the good bacteria, but not the bad. I'm still researching it, though. Other than that, I do what you do, and cut out sugars and carbs when possible.
Some people eat sourkraut, Bubbies brand in particular. Fermented foods can help the good bacteria, and introduce bacteria into the gut. I believe you have to eat sourkraut that has the live bacteria, though, and that's why Bubbies is good.
Love, Marsha
HI Cristi,
Those are very good questions. Here are my thoughts:
To my way of thinking, he only time that you really have to be careful about cutting out all sugar, is if you have an overgrowth of candida, (yeast), in your gut. When I was at my worst, (as far as malabsorption problems and intolerances go), maple sugar was the only kind of sugar that didn't cause me to have any problems, so I have to believe that it is one of the safest.
Without that teaspoon of maple sugar, your rice cereal is going to be pretty bland. I just can't force myself to eat it without something to enhance the flavor a bit. While I think about it, Smuckers, and a few other manufacturers make some 100% pure fruit preserves that are available in a lot of the larger grocery stores. It's good stuff, with no preseratives, provided that you can tolerate fruit sugars.
I'm surprised that your doctor didn't recommend a good probiotic, along with your C-diff treatment, especially toward the end, in order to get your gut properly populated with favorable fauna and flora, before the C-diff had a chance to get re-established again.
Recommending a low fat diet has been the trendy thing to do for the last decade or so, not just for those with digestive system problems. It's beginning to appear, however, that that advice rarely results in the benefits that are claimed by low fat diet promoters. Our paleo ancestors developed our digestive systems to be able to handle significant amounts of fat, if necessary, (IOW, if only fatty meat is available, we can handle it--look at the eskimos).
The recommendation against eating fat, (for those with IBD or celiac problems), is probably based on the tendency for those patients to show signs of steatorrhea in their stools. That doesn't necessarily mean that you should stop eating fat, however. Those stools will also be full of vitamins and other food nutrients, to say nothing of plain old undigested food, but that doesn't mean that you should stop eating everything that shows up in there. If you did, you would risk developing all sorts of nutritional problems, to say nothing of risking starving to death.
If you are concerned about your weight being too low, you need to ingest more calories. Fat will also provide you with energy, which always seems to be in short supply when you are having an MC reaction. It's not likely to increase your cholesterol level, (not as long as the fat comes from meat, anyway). There are certainly plenty of individuals who hold a contrary opinion about that, but we've been through this discussion before, and I can produce research documentation, if needed. Most of the recommendations about low fat diets were originally based on guesswork, and repeated so often that everyone eventually thought that they were proven facts. Recent research, however, does not bear that out.
There is certainly nothing wrong with eating olive oil and flax seed oil. They're very good for you. I'm hoping that someone with actual experience, or more knowledge about the topic, can advise you on a good probiotic. I've never used one.
Tex
P S I agree with Marsha about the Bubbies saurkraut. I have eaten that, and it's good stuff. You'll find it in the refrigerated section in many/most health food stores.
Those are very good questions. Here are my thoughts:
To my way of thinking, he only time that you really have to be careful about cutting out all sugar, is if you have an overgrowth of candida, (yeast), in your gut. When I was at my worst, (as far as malabsorption problems and intolerances go), maple sugar was the only kind of sugar that didn't cause me to have any problems, so I have to believe that it is one of the safest.
Without that teaspoon of maple sugar, your rice cereal is going to be pretty bland. I just can't force myself to eat it without something to enhance the flavor a bit. While I think about it, Smuckers, and a few other manufacturers make some 100% pure fruit preserves that are available in a lot of the larger grocery stores. It's good stuff, with no preseratives, provided that you can tolerate fruit sugars.
I'm surprised that your doctor didn't recommend a good probiotic, along with your C-diff treatment, especially toward the end, in order to get your gut properly populated with favorable fauna and flora, before the C-diff had a chance to get re-established again.
Recommending a low fat diet has been the trendy thing to do for the last decade or so, not just for those with digestive system problems. It's beginning to appear, however, that that advice rarely results in the benefits that are claimed by low fat diet promoters. Our paleo ancestors developed our digestive systems to be able to handle significant amounts of fat, if necessary, (IOW, if only fatty meat is available, we can handle it--look at the eskimos).
The recommendation against eating fat, (for those with IBD or celiac problems), is probably based on the tendency for those patients to show signs of steatorrhea in their stools. That doesn't necessarily mean that you should stop eating fat, however. Those stools will also be full of vitamins and other food nutrients, to say nothing of plain old undigested food, but that doesn't mean that you should stop eating everything that shows up in there. If you did, you would risk developing all sorts of nutritional problems, to say nothing of risking starving to death.
If you are concerned about your weight being too low, you need to ingest more calories. Fat will also provide you with energy, which always seems to be in short supply when you are having an MC reaction. It's not likely to increase your cholesterol level, (not as long as the fat comes from meat, anyway). There are certainly plenty of individuals who hold a contrary opinion about that, but we've been through this discussion before, and I can produce research documentation, if needed. Most of the recommendations about low fat diets were originally based on guesswork, and repeated so often that everyone eventually thought that they were proven facts. Recent research, however, does not bear that out.
There is certainly nothing wrong with eating olive oil and flax seed oil. They're very good for you. I'm hoping that someone with actual experience, or more knowledge about the topic, can advise you on a good probiotic. I've never used one.
Tex
P S I agree with Marsha about the Bubbies saurkraut. I have eaten that, and it's good stuff. You'll find it in the refrigerated section in many/most health food stores.
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Hi guys,
Interesting information.
MY naturopath recommended FOS as well....but told me to wait until I'm healthier. But online i read that a side effect was D. So that gives me pause.
I'm glad to hear that about fat as I've been increasing it slightly over the last couple of days and those symptoms of hypogycemia that I was experiencing has decreased somewhat....I think because of the little extra fat.
So did you guys try this sourkraut stuff while you where still having symptoms or after remission? It sounds scary but if you were able to tolerate it while still having D episodes as I am I'd be willing to give it a shot.
Thanks for your wisdom,
Cristi
Interesting information.
MY naturopath recommended FOS as well....but told me to wait until I'm healthier. But online i read that a side effect was D. So that gives me pause.
I'm glad to hear that about fat as I've been increasing it slightly over the last couple of days and those symptoms of hypogycemia that I was experiencing has decreased somewhat....I think because of the little extra fat.
So did you guys try this sourkraut stuff while you where still having symptoms or after remission? It sounds scary but if you were able to tolerate it while still having D episodes as I am I'd be willing to give it a shot.
Thanks for your wisdom,
Cristi
Cristi,
In my case, I didn't find out about Bubbies until I was well on my way toward healing, so no, I didn't try it while I was actively having MC episodes. I'm not sure who suggested it. It may have been Luce, or Karen, (moremuscle), but I'm just guessing.
Can you eat chocolate? That's a pretty good source of fat, and a mood-enhancer, to boot. Of course, you would want to eat it in moderation.
Coconut milk is a good source of fat, also. It's saturated fat versus the unsaturated fat found in all vegetable oils, except for palm oil. The oil is more readily digestible than other saturated fats because it has fewer residues and a shorter chain structure. I believe that it can be used in place of cow milk in many recipes.
If you're interested in reading information about why saturated fat in the diet is safe, (and healthy), here's a site with a lot of related information:
http://www.biblelife.org/saturated_fat.htm
The following quote comes from that site, (I'll be surprised if someone doesn't dispute this. LOL):
Tex
In my case, I didn't find out about Bubbies until I was well on my way toward healing, so no, I didn't try it while I was actively having MC episodes. I'm not sure who suggested it. It may have been Luce, or Karen, (moremuscle), but I'm just guessing.
Can you eat chocolate? That's a pretty good source of fat, and a mood-enhancer, to boot. Of course, you would want to eat it in moderation.
Coconut milk is a good source of fat, also. It's saturated fat versus the unsaturated fat found in all vegetable oils, except for palm oil. The oil is more readily digestible than other saturated fats because it has fewer residues and a shorter chain structure. I believe that it can be used in place of cow milk in many recipes.
If you're interested in reading information about why saturated fat in the diet is safe, (and healthy), here's a site with a lot of related information:
http://www.biblelife.org/saturated_fat.htm
The following quote comes from that site, (I'll be surprised if someone doesn't dispute this. LOL):
FWIW, I'm gonna have to say that I agree with that quote.Heart disease is caused by excessive blood insulin from eating fruit, whole grains, cereals, breads, pasta and sugar. If you believe heart disease is caused by eating saturated fats, you have been brainwashed.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Hi Tex,
Wow, that is some site. I'm not sure what to think about it.It is certainly different from anything I've ever been told.....but then I'm sick...even tho I always tried to be a healthy eater. My rice cereal with a banana is now sounding dangerous. I'm going to think about adding more meat to my diet. Thanks for the info,
Cristi
Wow, that is some site. I'm not sure what to think about it.It is certainly different from anything I've ever been told.....but then I'm sick...even tho I always tried to be a healthy eater. My rice cereal with a banana is now sounding dangerous. I'm going to think about adding more meat to my diet. Thanks for the info,
Cristi
Cristi,
As long as you're not intolerant of it, a little cereal now and then is not likely to hurt you. The biggest problem was the government's ridiculous "pyramid" of recommended foods, "which they were forced to finally modify, recently, by the way.
I don't know when that article on that site was written, but it's claims are sorta validated by the results of the huge long-term study on low fat diets that were recently released a month or so ago.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/ ... 4374.shtml
Note that the "reseachers" and "experts" immediately came up with all sorts of excuses as to why the results were the opposite of what they were hoping for, but I think this study says a lot, and it opened a lot of eyes. It covered a huge sample population, and it lasted for quite a few years--certainly enough time to yield valid results.
If those reseachers and experts were so sure that the research was not being conducted correctly, why did they go ahead and do it they way? Why didn't they just do it "correctly" while they were at it. LOL.
Anyway, I think the best policy in the long term is to eat what your body does well on, and try to avoid the things that bother you. The first order of business is to get your symptoms under control. After you get your symptoms under control, then you will have plenty of time to worry about what should go into a healthy diet, and what should not.
Tex
P S Eating more meat is an excellent way to get the protein and energy you need to help your gut to heal.
As long as you're not intolerant of it, a little cereal now and then is not likely to hurt you. The biggest problem was the government's ridiculous "pyramid" of recommended foods, "which they were forced to finally modify, recently, by the way.
I don't know when that article on that site was written, but it's claims are sorta validated by the results of the huge long-term study on low fat diets that were recently released a month or so ago.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/ ... 4374.shtml
Note that the "reseachers" and "experts" immediately came up with all sorts of excuses as to why the results were the opposite of what they were hoping for, but I think this study says a lot, and it opened a lot of eyes. It covered a huge sample population, and it lasted for quite a few years--certainly enough time to yield valid results.
If those reseachers and experts were so sure that the research was not being conducted correctly, why did they go ahead and do it they way? Why didn't they just do it "correctly" while they were at it. LOL.
Anyway, I think the best policy in the long term is to eat what your body does well on, and try to avoid the things that bother you. The first order of business is to get your symptoms under control. After you get your symptoms under control, then you will have plenty of time to worry about what should go into a healthy diet, and what should not.
Tex
P S Eating more meat is an excellent way to get the protein and energy you need to help your gut to heal.
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Thanks Tex,
I think that's good advise.....more protein and just be more careful with the carbs. These sites that you've found are very interesting. I'm sending them to my cousin whose teenage son has lupus and is on steroids and prilosec (I was on prilosec ..obviously no more). I'm waiting on my results from enterolab to see if I carry the genes first. Her mother had lupus and her sister has myacemia gravis (sp?) and our grandmother had rhumatoid arthritis and another uncle died 2 months ago from lymphoma. So if all these conditions relate back to gluten intolerence then maybe there is a reason for me getting this awful stuff......to help the rest of my family and protect my kids before they have any damage.
So thanks for the info,
Cristi
I think that's good advise.....more protein and just be more careful with the carbs. These sites that you've found are very interesting. I'm sending them to my cousin whose teenage son has lupus and is on steroids and prilosec (I was on prilosec ..obviously no more). I'm waiting on my results from enterolab to see if I carry the genes first. Her mother had lupus and her sister has myacemia gravis (sp?) and our grandmother had rhumatoid arthritis and another uncle died 2 months ago from lymphoma. So if all these conditions relate back to gluten intolerence then maybe there is a reason for me getting this awful stuff......to help the rest of my family and protect my kids before they have any damage.
So thanks for the info,
Cristi