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I do not want email on the SCD, anysuch email will be forwarded to the
emailer's ISP.
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One response was "do nothing about food reactions" - the feeling that harm
is going to be done if you do something.  I don't agree - as well as
avoiding suffering:

- things may be going on during these food reactions which are bad for
  you.  I've heard that some symptoms of these non-IgE food reactions
  are from acidosis - acidity of the blood.  Calcium may be taken out of
  your bones to compensate.

- people have died from gluten reactions, as one person on this list
  emailed me about.  I'm in this hypersensitive state right now - you
  know, people on a gluten-free diet often get super-sensitive to gluten,
  for a few years.  Well, this happens with other food intolerances also -
  right now, I *know* I'm sensitive to tiny quantities of corn, legumes
  and fish; maybe I'm still sensitive to tiny amounts of dairy and gluten.
  Literally, half of my supplements that I used to take, have made me sick
  for days, from tiny amounts of some allergen in them.  A chromium pill
  made me quite sick for several days.

  It is scary - what happens if somehow I get more than a tiny amount?
  Has this happened to anybody, you got super-sensitive and you
  accidentally ate much more than the amount you were super-sensitive to?

  When you're in this hypersensitive state, it might not just be a matter
  of being nice to yourself, to avert reactions by vomiting.  It might be
  crucial first aid!

  Syrup of ipecac induces vomiting.  It's recommended over salt water.
  But I think the reason why that is, is that the ipecac induces vomiting
  quickly, so it works for some poisons that are absorbed quickly.
  But I don't get sick from the
  food reactions immediately.  It mostly comes on in a whumph about 4
  hours after eating, this woozy state starts and it lasts about 4 days.
  I think this is when my stomach empties out into my small intestine.
  So I think that for averting gluten/food reactions, salt water might
  work fine.  It takes longer
  to induce vomiting than the syrup of ipecac, but I think with gluten
  you'd have that time.

  Here's how you do it with salt water - you use an "isotonic" salt
  solution - meaning the same salinity as your blood.  This is 1 tsp salt
  for every 2 cups of water.  About 6-8 cups of saline are used - salt
  in warm water.  So it would be a tablespoon of salt for 6 cups of warm
  water.

  Yogis do this, amazingly.  It's a kind of yoga practice!  The idea of
  vomiting for amusement is bemusing!  I don't think
  warm isotonic saline is harmful, but it might be a good idea to ask a
  doctor if it's advisable for you.

  I'd have to get syrup of ipecac made especially without allergens, by
  a compounding pharmacy, so I'd rather just stick with something that's
  easy.  I know I won't react to salt.

- The other thing is, I've had to do a lot of "food challenges".  This is
  the only way to be sure that a food is OK to eat.  With food challenges,
  I wouldn't be
  vomiting, because I have to wait until I know I'm having a reaction.
  But once I know I've reacted, it would be best if I could clear out my
  gut and maybe I won't have to be sick for days on end.

  People sent me advice about how to stop diarrhea.  But I rarely get
  diarrhea, actually having diarrhea seems like a healthy way for the
  body to try to clean itself out.

  I've tried milk of magnesia, it doesn't help, but I only take the dose
  recommended on the bottle, once.  More might do it, if it's safe to take
  more MgOH.  Milk of magnesia was recommended partly because it's an
  alkali salt, MgOH, and some kinds of reactions are mostly about
  increased acidity in the blood.  Or, taking an antacid like baking soda.
  I don't know the amount of baking soda people would use.

  One person said she uses an enema, this moves food out of your gut
  faster.

  One person sent me this:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
although [a blend of two herbs] doesn't induce vomiting, it does move what
is already in my gut through with hyper-speed. As long as I have taken the
capsules within hours of a known exposure, I have not suffered my usual ill
effects (extended period of brain fog, itching, etc), just some moderate
almost diarrhea but much more pleasant than the usual bloated gassy gluten
diarrhea I might otherwise get.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

She says one of the herbs is wormwood but doesn't know what the other is.
This is interesting because "brain fog and itching" is really similar to
my reaction.  Wormwood isn't a laxative, apparently.  It would be doing
something else, preventing some part of the reaction.

Someone told me that wormwood is neurotoxic.  It's what's used to make
absinthe.  Of course, that doesn't mean it's necessarily unhealthy in an
herbal medicine, in small quantities.

Maybe there are non-herbal medications that would also prevent the reaction,
that an MD might know about.

What foods I react to - so far! :

All grains, dairy, apples, citrus,
all legumes, chocolate, buckwheat, strawberries, bananas, fish, shellfish,
the onion family (garlic, onions), the nightshade family (potatoes,
bell peppers, tomatoes), stone fruits (cherries, apricots,
peaches), eggwhites, green tea, stevia, unfiltered honey, poultry, flaxseed,
pork, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, the carrot family.

Almost everything that was part of my diet at all when i was eating
gluten, I have reacted to.  Except lettuce and radishes.

Laura

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