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Is it possible/likely to be intolerant to turkey? Up until this past January, I had been a vegetarian for about 5 years, but I determined that I needed to eat meat to get enough protein in a GF SF DF EF (could go on with the "frees") diet.
While I'm still having major D for about an hour every morning and just before bed, I feel like I have had significant improvement in the frequency of accidents. Well...about two weeks ago I bought some frozen turkey hot dogs and turkey burger patties at the HFS, thinking these would be easy to fix quickly. This is the first time I've had turkey in years. The brand was Shelton's and this is organic turkey. Both were labeled GF, and the ingredient listed on the burgers was: Ground Turkey. The hot dogs did have mustard and vinegar, but were labeled GF, so I figured they were okay. Last week I ate a turkey hot dog and had much worse D at night and an accident the following morning. The same thing happened when I ate a burger on Saturday night. I started to put two and two together. Then I had a burger for dinner last night, and sure enough, an accident this morning. (And no, I did not have a bun with these. They were plain.)
Can one be intolerant of turkey? And if I am intolerant of turkey is it likely that I am also intolerant of chicken? What do you think?
I am having the opposite effect. I can eat turkey, but since about a month ago every time I eat chicken I end up paying the piper with explosive d and usually leaking through the night. So if you find an answer, I would love to know b/c I am just as dumbfounded as you are about this.
I am just guessing but I would try plain turkey from the carcass before I would make the intolerance decision. A hot dog of any kind is processed. I do better with fresh, no processed anything. Make large quanties ahead of time and then all you have to do is pull it out, heat and eat. I've even eaten stuff cold that I normally would heat.
Hmmmmmmm. That's very puzzling, to say the least. I don't believe I've ever heard of that happening before, but I suppose just about anything is possible with this disease.
Love,
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.
Hmm...well, I can say that any time I don't eat meat for a while, and then go back on it, it makes me pretty sick (d)the first few times I eat it again...this is especially true of red meat, but any meat in general.
So it could be that. But definitely try it plain, right off the bird, before giving up.
Well, all I know for sure is that I've definitely had reactions to that turkey. And here I thought an organic burger in which the only ingredient was turkey would be safe. Silly me. I know all hot dogs are processed, but these only had three ingredients, so I thought I would give them a try. I probably won't have turkey "right off the bird" anytime soon, because how often am I going to buy a whole turkey? But I won't count turkey out yet. I've reacted to meat before, but I've been eating meat for a few months, so I don't think it's just my gut not being used to meat. Could it be the freezing process? Just a thought.
Maybe you don't have to cook a whole turkey. See if your grocery store has turkey parts. I cook ground turkey burgers. Only ingredient is turkey. I can make 4 patties from one package and then I refrigerate what I don't eat and can just heat up a burger in less than a minute. Keep trying, you'll figure out if you can tolerate it or not. Let us know.
courtney!! i agree with pat i would just try plain chicken or turkey not any that has been processed...
i was the same i was vegetarian for 7 yrs and when i became ill and couldnt eat half of what i used to i started eating plain chicken to get protein... I usually just buy chicken breast ad cook in the oven...i then add my gf gravy or sauce to it but usually just eat it cooked on its own...You could get turkey or chicken breast on its own thats the best part of the meat...
i would be too suspicious of buying preocessed meat for burgers, you never know whats in them...
These burgers should only have had ground turkey, as that was the only ingredient listed. My question is really more is it possible to be intolerant to turkey, processed or not? I know some people have a problem with beef...so I was concerned about turkey.
Gluten is actually composed of many different proteins, but there are two main groups of proteins in gluten, called gliadins and glutenins. During digestion, the gluten proteins break down into peptides, (or polypeptides, or peptide chains), that are made up of strings of amino acids. One particular gliadin peptide, for example, has been shown to be harmful to celiac patients when applied directly into the small intestine of celiac patients. This particular peptide includes 19 amino acids strung together in a specific sequence.
Another suspected gladin can be represented as shown in the sequence below, in which the implicated toxic sequence is emphasized in red:
Theoretically, it's probably possible to be sensitive to virtually any protein. In reality, we seem to be sensitive to proteins which contain certain sequences in their amino acid chains, which are similar to certain sequences in the amino acid chains of a couple of the gliadins in wheat gluten, to which we are most sensitive, (as illustrated by the proposed examples above). It is also very likely that there are toxic sequences in the glutenin fraction of gluten, which are mostly unexplored, at this point. As far as I can determine, none of this has actually been conclusively proven, it is still in the investigative phase.
The implication is that any protein which contains similar amino acid sequences in their amino acid chains, which are similar to, (for example), the suspected sequences mentioned above, may possibly be mistaken for the toxic sequences that have been demonstrated to cause celiac-type reactions. IOW, the immune system may become confused, and trigger a reaction, if a sequence is identical, except for, say, one or two amino acid positions in "similar" sequences. The closer the match, presumably, the more likely the sequence would be to trigger a reaction, or a more severe reaction.
Additionally, the percentage of "suspect" sequences in any given protein sample, should presumably have an effect. For example, consider the list below, which specifies the type of prolamine each grain contains, and the percentage of protein that the prolamine contains, in comparision with the total protein content of the entire grain:
From this comparison, it's fairly easy to speculate why wheat is such a potent offender, (69% gliadin), while rice is only rarely a problem, (only 5% orzenin), without even considering the possibility of the similarity of any amino acid sequences.
I have no idea what the amino acid sequences of the primary proteins in turkey might resemble, but presumably, the closest resemblances of "suspect" sequences, would be less similar than most of the examples above. IOW, they might possibly trigger a reaction when exposed to certain highly-sensitive immune systems, but this would obviously be a very low probability, statistically speaking. Still, the possibility certainly exists, since several members of this board, including myself, react to beef, though in my case, at least, the symptoms are limited to gas, bloating, upper body aches and pains, headache, stiff neck, etc., but no diarrhea.
The bottom line is that we still have a lot to learn about the specific mechanisms by which we react, so a lot of this is strictly speculation.
Love,
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.
Tex, this is why I didn't become a biologist . You never cease to amaze me with your understanding of this stuff.
I came down with a pretty bad virus I get every April over the weekend, and DH made me some chicken soup from a whole chicken. So far I have not had a similar reaction to that.
You're giving me more credit than I'm due. I do have a reasonably decent understanding of biology, because of my work, but my understanding of biochemistry, is rather minimal. When it comes to things such as amino acid chains, my eyes start to sort of glaze over, and my thoughts begin to drift away from the subject at hand.
If you get a similar virus every April, I can't help but wonder if some sort of pollen might be involved, though I can't visualize how it would trigger a virus, unless you actually had some sort of allergy symptoms, that might somehow make you more vulnerable to a particular type of virus.
That's good news that the chicken soup is working, at least.
Love,
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.
I've been wondering if it's some sort of allergy, too. This first happened when I was working in a library and a kid with bronchitis coughed all over me. I came down with a really bad case of that for the first time in my life, and have gotten it every year since. I grew up in SC, and moved north to NJ and then to IL about four years ago. I wonder if I'm allergic to something up north that isn't around down south. Every April, I start with a sore throat for about a day, then move to nasal congestion/headache for a few days, then it moves down into my chest as viral bronchitis. It lasts about two weeks, total. If it's an allergy, then it's a bad one, and it's to some kind of pollen that's in NJ and IL. I have blamed it on spring lasting so much longer here. I actually called in sick yesterday bc I was dizzy every time I stood up, and I never call in sick.
Saline nasal wash (or Neti Pot) works really well for me. It won't help the chest congestion but really helps the sinus stuff from becoming a bacterial infection. I also am a big fan of Mucinex especially for chest congestion. Works!
Glad you do well with chicken soup! It's the best and your DH is great for making it for you!
I read your post earlier, and then went back to work, and I've been thinking about your symptoms ever since, but so far, no "eureka". You know, viruses are capable of altering genes, so that first infection probably resulted in genetic changes that predispose you to something that triggers symptoms every April. That's an intriguing mystery. Maybe someone else will visualize some clues in those symptoms.
Love,
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.
They were plain.)
But I won't count turkey out yet. I've reacted to meat before, but I've been eating meat for a few months, so I don't think it's just my gut not being used to meat. Could it be the freezing process? Just a thought.