MICROSCOPIC COLITIS SUPPORT

Suggested Eating Plan - Stage ONE
Preface: There is no 'Strict' MC eating plan and set menu. What we recommend is that each individual find the ingredients that settle the best for them, based on their location, what is readily available, what suits budget, cooking style, lifestyle (work and family etc)
the Enterolab testing (see links at bottom for expanded info) can help to narrow down safe food items. otherwise it is trial and error.

This is a global site, majority of members do come from the USA, albeit the eating habits / cooking styles etc of people in North America is not the same for those in the UK, Europe, Asia, or Australia etc etc. Likewise products that are readily available in one country, may not be in another. I have tried to make this as 'generic' as possible to suit majority of countries of people that have contributed to discussions.


Low Inflammation - Gut Healing eating plan

Basics of the eating plan
Gluten Free (100% gluten free)
Dairy Free
Soy Free
Egg Free

Why - these are the most common items to cause issues for MC'ers.
when there has been good healing, some people can add eggs back in. (or use alternative egg source like Duck eggs, quail eggs etc more on this later)
there are articles at the bottom about Gluten and Dairy and why they are highly inflammatory. Not just for MC'ers or those with IBD's for but for the entire population. It is very likely you had the celiac blood test and it came out negative. there is an explanation below that will clarify this issue.

Bland - no spices, salt only (where possible use grinder and pure salt, pure pepper so there is no risk of contamination from processed items Why? spices increase inflammation

Well cooked Vegetables - mushy well cooked veges - why? fibre is inflammation trigger to MC'ers, especially when reacting. (after good period of healing, fibre intake can be increased slightly)
also- well cooked makes them low inflammation, easy to digest, the body uses less energy to get the goodness from the meal
early days keep it to 1-3 safe vegetables there is no absolutely safe vegetable for everyone, the following is a list of the ones that suit most.
Sweet Potato/Kumara Red potato carrot courgette/zucchini/squash Rutabaga/turnip/swede Cauliflower

Well cooked proteins - optimises bodies ability to digest the protein and absorb the nutrients
Protein, being animal protein is key element for healing. Aim to have good serves of protein each meal.
which proteins? this is where things get very individual - Things like Chicken can be ok for some, but total chaos for someone else.
Turkey (ensure it is pure, and no hidden ingredients like soy via rosemary flavour or onion powder, )
Lamb
Game Meats - Venison, Bison, Duck etc (tend to be pure, grass fed, less GMO inputs etc)
Seafood
Pork

Fats
Animal Fat, - via fatty cuts of meat including bacon.
the safest fat sources are Coconut Oil or Pure Olive Oil.
Ghee is safe for some people
Fat is essential for good digestion process, and needed for the healing process. Unrefined coconut oil has a relatively low smoke point, and it makes anything cooked in it taste like coconut. A good refined coconut oil has a much higher smoke point (therefore it is great for frying fish, etc., at 350–360 degrees F), and I have never tasted coconut in the fish, French fries, chicken, or whatever I have cooked in it. (I really didn't want hash browns that tasted like coconut)! :)

Home Made Bone Broth
home made bone broth is a cheap gut healing powerforce! it has 75% of the amino acids your body needs, it has gut healing essential like collagen and gelatin, it has minerals - All in a easy to digest form, in a perfect combo of elements that optimize each other.
Use it to make soups and stews with your safe protein and vegetables
cook vegetables in it (gives them more flavour)
some people can drink small amount each day
cook rice or other safe grains in it


Cooking the bones for 2-3 hours and freezing into portions is best way to avoid histamine issues
NB: commercial stocks and broths do not have the same gut healing ingredients in them.
Like most things in MC world, not everything will suit everybody.

Minimal grains
quite a few do ok with Rice -white rice - jasmine is a good low GMO low aresnic option

No salad - why too much fibre

Nuts
Nuts in any form early on can cause problems. No peanut butter (soy family). No raw nuts, nut butters and flours need to be tried slowly as these are high in fiber and highly allergenic.
in Stage Two nut butters can be introduced

No Seeds

Fruit
cautious intake of fruit raw banana (not too ripe) tends to be the safest fruit for most. Cooked peeled apple is another option. Small amount of canned pears/peaches, without the syrup.

Minimal sugar - including fruit sugar

Minimal processed Foods
there are multiple reasons for avoiding process foods, even gluten and soy free versions
a) higher risk of contamination (especially in USA and other countries that allow higher threshold of gluten parts per million in the products )
b) when inflammed many struggle with flour blends
c) commercial pre baked gluten free type goods tend to be higher in sugar
d) low nutrient benefit compared to having protein and vegetables

Snacks etc
For stage one, snacks should be based on the safest ingredients,
paleo type muffins (made on coconut flour etc so minimal grain) minimal ingredients, precooked cold meats (home cooked)
Protein bars and drinks may be difficult for some because of all the ingredients. Stick with single ingredient foods. These are items that you can introduce in stage two.

Drinks
water,
tea (if it settles ok - some flavoured teas can have soy and other ingredients in them double check the label)
coffee (if it settles ok - instant coffee is a risk for gluten contamination)
There are dairy free creamers available in some countries

anything else has too much sugar at this stage, down the track when there has been good healing there are some options

By this stage you might be thinking "What the hell can I eat?" and may be a bit overwhelmed...
its ok - we take this a step at a time
work on getting safe dinner/evening meals sorted - day at a time
then figure out safe breakfast options - it will take a few days
then work on lunch and snack options -

This eating plan is not forever, it is just the first stage (think back to when a baby migrates from milk to solids) with time and healing the eating plan can be expanded and this information is provided in the Stage Two Eating Plan

There are loads of discussions about what to eat and meal options, use the search function (Red writing in the header, Search The Archives of This Discussion Board , for words like 'breakfast' 'meals' 'turkey'. There are loads of recipes and meal ideas in other sections of the forum

How long do I need to do this? - that depends, some people see great improvement in symptoms within a couple of months, and can start onto stage two. for a few they may need to stay on the bland eating plan for 3-5 months. There are many factors that affect the healing journey.
ie - if you have major deficiencies in things like VIt D3, magnesium, healing wont really start until those nutrients are at high enough levels
if you are having contact with inflammation triggers that are non food related, like pollen, pollution, mould, dust, stress, this will slow the healing process.
there is no fixed timeline, you have to 'listen to your body'

Contamination
some people are super sensitive to the smallest amount of contamination. For those sharing a kitchen where gluten and soy is being used, we do suggest having your own cookware, utensils etc.
where sharing a kitchen with others, set up a separate prep area/counter for gluten free cooking.
super sensitivity to contamination issues tends to be more of an issue when you are super inflammed, with time and healing you dont have to be as obsessive.
Eating out in this early stage of healing may be difficult due to the contamination issue and it may set your progress back.

Time
healing takes time - be patient. there is no quick fix.
as we age, healing takes longer. we are talking weeks and months
we strongly encourage people to start with the bland, well cooked, safe 'protein and couple of veges (or rice and veges)' eating plan for a few weeks. ideally soup/stew type things based on home made bone broth.
as inflammation reduces, gradually (very gradually) add in safe type ingredients


Why didnt my doctor/specialist tell me to do this?
In most countries, doctors receive about 15 hours of nutrition training during their 4-6 years of training. Once qualified majority of the ongoing education is provided by pharmaceutical companies - based on medication to reduce symptom system. like any employee, doctors have to follow the rules and guidelines of the employer that is paying them.

There are some doctors will do their own research and be pro-active about diet and nutrition.
In recent years there is a slow acknowledgement that things like the nutritional guidelines are not supporting good health and we are seeing some changes.

The Microscopic Colitis Foundation has a food choices guideline
http://www.microscopiccolitisfoundation ... 070516.pdf


Other Info:
Histamine / mast Cell
cook fresh, or reheat from frozen.
**insert links to Mast Cell Info

Articles and Links
Celiac Blood Test
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=22245

Gluten
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/4358631.htm

http://kellybroganmd.com/two-foods-may-sabotage-brain/
Quote:
When I suggest elimination of gluten to patients, they sometimes tell me that they have already been tested, and “don’t have Celiac”. The limitations of currently available conventional testing are very real as most physicians who do a “Celiac panel” are only testing for alpha gliadin, tissue transglutaminase 2, and endomesial antibody, a small portion of the potential immune responses to this food. In a grain consisting of 6 sets of chromosomes, capable of producing greater than 23,000 proteins, this testing may just be too small a window into a very complex space. In one study, inflammatory response was noted in healthy volunteers, suggesting that gluten may cause reactions in everyone.


http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/63/6/770.full
Quote:
They stated: "Neurological symptoms antedated the diagnosis of celiac disease in all, and most had minimal or no gastrointestinal symptoms at the onset of the neuromuscular disorder.


Dairy
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-8646/the ... dairy.html

Meal Ideas for Stage One Eating Plan

Super Protein is Bone Broth Soup.
I cook off a Cornish hen (get a generic low seasoned one - Tyson does not seem to be safe for me) debone it and save the meat in the fridge.
Fill a great big crockpot with water and add some Sea Salt and the Cornish hen bones and a dash of cider vinegar. Let this cook a good long while, either over night or most of a day.
Transfer the broth to a pot on the stove. In the mean time think about a couple safe veges that might taste good and dice them up and add to the pot (I use carrot and celery) let this cook away until super soft. If this is where you want to stop great other wise I add Tikiyada Gluten free noodles to make a gigantic pot of Cornish hen noodle soup :-)
I portion this out and put the majority in the freezer in individual servings, and I eat this every day for lunch Erica

Bake poultry and vegetables
buy leg quarter of poultry - or half bird for smaller bird types - Skin On
sprinkle with salt both side, place in baking dish. cook on high heat for 45 mins.
prepare vegetables (I use sweet potato, potato, carrot, parsnip) peel, cut in half/thirds (depending on size etc) coat in rice bran oil and salt
turn poultry pieces over, add in vegetables cook for further 45 minutes or so on high heat Gabes

One pot quick soupy stew
home made bone broth in pot, put in peeled and diced safe vegetables, salt, boil for 10 mins, add in minced/ground (safe) meat, simmer for 10-15 minutes. (i have the minced/ground meat in meal portions in the freezer, if cooking from frozen extend the cooking time by 5-10 minutes) Gabes

Variant - using small amount of rice, one vegetable and your safe protein. Good way to have protein rich meal

Sticky Rice - Savoury
cook the rice in home made bone broth, do not rinse, the liquid has gut healing goodness. Gabes

Sticky Rice - Sweet
cook the rice in water, or coconut water, small amount of coconut sugar, add small amount of cinnamon, pureed apple /cooked apple Gabes

Sources of suggested proteins
if you do not have a local outlet for the types of meats suggested, there are options to get them delivered

Jean provided these links in October 2015 for USA based members
There are lots of places online that sell meat. You have to be prepared to spend more than you do on supermarket meat but in general you get better quality. Here are a few that have less common meats:

https://www.steaksandgame.com/
http://shafferfarms.com/
http://www.brokenarrowranch.com/

I usually stick to ground meat because it is the least expensive.

Two places with more common meats, but that includes lamb and turkey, are

http://www.texasgrassfedbeef.com/
http://grasslandbeef.com/

If you're interested in duck I recently found this place:

http://www.farmfreshduck.com/

Thanks, Gabe, for this comprehensive plan - very helpful to us newbies! It may just be me, but I had no luck with the following link:

The Microscopic Colitis Foundation has a food choices guideline
http://www.microscopiccolitisfoundation ... 070516.pdf

The error displayed: 404 Page Not Found

I'll try searching for the page, but wanted to mention the problem in case you'd like to check into that.

Thanks again,
Mary A

Mary,

I'm not sure what happened with that pdf link, but I noticed several days ago that it was not available for download. Unfortunately the computer on which those files were created is down (motherboard failure) and I'm still waiting for parts, and it appears that file was never backed up to the network associated storage, so I can't access the original file until I can get that other computer up and running again.

However, I managed to fix the link anyway, and I edited both your and Gabe's posts to point to the correct file (though I'm not sure that all the URLs listed in the PDF will be live (to access some of them you may have to copy and paste them into your browser's address bar).

Try it now — it should work.

Tex

Thanks Tex

It works! Thank you so much, Tex!

--Mary Alice

You're most welcome,
Tex

Hi all, I fortunately do not suffer too badly with diarrhea (the occassional mad rush) but I have more problems with constipation (I often feel like I really need to run to the bathroom but then nothing happens but cramping).
I wanted to know a little more about the gluten free diet suggestion, I find that oats and bread (white only) are two of the only things that don't make me bloat up and look pregnant :/
Do you recommend still removing gluten from my diet ?
Thank you everyone!

hi Louise
Gluten is very inflammatory and it takes lots of energy to digest, so yes I would recommend removing it from your diet
the articles in the post explain this.

I too have had constipation issues - and the same principles apply in that constipation is also due to inflammation.
in addition to the eating plan suggestions above i would recommend the following for you;

- increase water intake
- increase safe oil intake - coconut oil is the safest pure oil
- increase magnesium intake to help gut muscles pass the poop
- take vitamin D3 to help reduce inflammation levels
- the low inflammation easy to digest eating plan suggested above will help the body be able to pass motions

hope this helps.

Louise,

For virtually all of my life, constipation was a problem. When my MC symptoms began, I had alternating cycles of diarrhea (D) and constipation (C). My GI specialist told me that it wouldn't matter what I ate. I seemed to react to anything and everything, at random. I even kept a food/reaction diary and I still couldn't see any patterns. But a few months after I cut gluten out of my diet permanently, I began to be able to track down all of my food sensitivities because then I could see reaction patterns based on my diet. And after I avoided gluten for a few months, if I accidentally ingested even a trace of it, I would react.

Just last year my chronic magnesium deficiency finally became so severe that I was able to figure out the problem, and now that I have resolved my magnesium deficiency, it's pretty clear that a life-long magnesium deficiency was the main reason why I had problems with C for most of my life. Chronic constipation is usually caused by a chronic magnesium deficiency, but our doctors never point that out to us because they are not trained to recognize magnesium deficiency. Because they are not trained to look for it, it's not even on their radar, so they never see it, no matter how bad a patient's symptoms may be.

Do I/we recommend removing gluten from your diet? Virtually every one of us here is sensitive to gluten, despite negative celiac screening test results. So yes, as Gabes pointed out, we definitely recommend avoiding gluten, even tiny trace amounts, because we are at least as sensitive to gluten as the average celiac. The medical community has no official test by which they can diagnose non-celiac gluten sensitivity, so we have to take the responsibility to correct our own health problems.

You're very welcome,
Tex

This is such a great plan on what to eat in stage one. Thank you Gabes! I am now ready to go to stage two and would love some ideas on what you think are the best things to start adding at this stage. Do you have an eating plan for Stage Two?

Thank you!

Renee

Renee
thanks for the feedback, much appreciated.

there is a work in progress eating plan stage 2 - my main suggestion is
slow and steady
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=22329

Thanks for all the encouraging words and posts. I will be doing what you have recommended. I do take a multivitamin, digestive enzymes, magnesium bisglicinate, anti infammatory capsules, vitamin D, probiotics, fish oil capsules. I have other health issues like chronic migraines that I have had for 45 years.

Charleen
if you have MC and want to heal the gut we do recommend only taking good quality Vit D3 and magnesium in the early stages of healing

let the low inflammation gut healing eating plan do its work
down the track you can add other supps in. Also double check the ingredients of your supplements, avoid things like soy.