<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
I posted a note re intestinal bloating on a strict (I think) gluten-freee
diet that seems to be brought on by sugar, choc., perhaps carbos. These things
are otherwise tolerated in my diet in moderation but under certain conditions
(like the stress of travel and excesses like overeating or too much cabohydrates
and sugar) are not tolerated.
Thanks for helpful responses. My problem continues probably because I am
still under stress here and its hard to add a strict "new" diet to all the other
sabbatical, mother of twins, new country/language stresses. I will share my
working hypothesis. The one word summary is "VARIETY" (is the spice of life).
Several suggested that a carbohydrate rich diet can at times lead to
intestinal problems. I was also struck by Peter Thomson's testimonial on the
Web (http://www.demon.co.uk/webguides) that he started his Gluten Free diet by
eating mainly rice and his problems returned. "my narrow diet was the
worst way to proceed...I must broaden my diet as much as poossible or my immune
system could well start reacting to any other food that was in my digestive
system at the time." This is a point others have brought up recently on the
list. Thomson also has a book just out called "The Complete Guide for
Gluten-free or Wheat-free Diets", ISBN 0-340-62098-6, price 8.99 UK pounds that
can be ordered via [log in to unmask]
-->It may well be that the recovering celiac needs a special diet at first
beyond being gluten free to let the gut heal. Such diets have been recommended
for those with gi problems: irritible bowl syndrome, etc. (see below).
The problem of excess carbohydrates and complex foods is dealt with in the
the Gottschalk diet and the "Zone" diet. Both take foods that are low fiber.
The Gottschalk was summarized especially clearly in an old post reposted by Don
Wiss, that I recovered with a search of the newsgroup archives:
---------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 19 May 1995 10:32:51 -0400
From: Don Wiss <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Book on Controlling Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Debra Boutin asked:
>I was sure that I had read something in the last few months about
>a book that gave good advice on controlling the symptoms of IBS. I've
>looked everywhere I can think of and cannot find a reference to it.
>(I've already done a search of previous postings.) Does anyone have
>any knowledge of such a book?
The book you are probably referring to is by Elaine Gottschall entitled
Breaking the Vicious Cycle, Intestinal Health through Diet. She says it is
a diet for Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis, celiac
disease, cystic fibrosis, and chronic diarrhea. It is published by the
Kirkton Press in Kirkton, Ontario, Canada. The telephone number is
519-229-6795. The fax is 519-229-6969.
It has been discussed in the alt.support.crohns-colitis newsgroup with some
people reporting success and others not. The author says that one month is
long enough to tell if the diet is helping, but it then takes longer to "cure".
The basics of the diet are (snipped from newsgroup posts):
From: [log in to unmask] (Michelle Gray)
Basically, you only eat monosaccharides which means simple sugars, so that
everything is digested with no leftovers, like fiber. These leftovers are
believed to feed to bacterium and "flora" in your intestines which then can
get out of control (the bad ones) and make further digestion even harder.
Their overabundence causes them to produce extra mucus which covers up the
microvilli which break down complex sugars. So more is undigested, they eat
more, they grow more, a "vicious cycle." My GI said he thinks the theory has
some validity, but no controlled studies have been done, so no proof, and
not everyone who you would think would benefit does. Hence, the experimental
side of it.
What you can eat:
fruit and vegetables, cooked only at first until you can tolerate more;
nuts when you can tolerate them;
some beans (lentils and white navy) when you can tolerate them;
meat;
milk products without lactose, like hard aged cheeses (cheddar, colby,
swiss); homemade yogurt (real easy and good!), a few others;
honey.
No-Nos:
refined sugars;
wheat and other flours -- NONE at all;
most beans;
potatoes;
lactose milk products;
chocolate (of course).
---------------------------------------------
I think these "out of control 'flora' are just the ones that give me trouble.
The Barry Sears "Enter the Zone" diet has a newsgroup and a www site.
Thanks to Amy ([log in to unmask]), they are listed below. It's pretty similar to
the Gottschalk diet.
---------------------------------------------
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Scott Nelson seems to have a good "primer" on the Web about the book @
http://users.aol.com/ScotNelson/zonediet/zonediet.html
---------------------------------------------
Gayle Kennedy ([log in to unmask]) wrote:
I have to be careful of fruits that are excessively sweet - in fact most of
the gluten free recipes are lost on me because they are so long on cookies,
cakes, and sweet things in general. If I travel and eat out or with
friends frequently I have just a tad of sugar here and there and after a
while I'm in trouble. For me the answer is lots of water, Alka Selszer
Gold (comes in a mustard colored box) and glucose tablets if I seem to
still need something sweet. And mild but good exercise - walking, for
example. NOT tennis or anything too strenuous. Glucose goes right to the
brain and does not cause the problems that sucrose, fructose, etc. seem to
cause in my body.
With regard to balanced diet, first you have to get the gut to calm down.
Are you taking mineral and vitamin supplements? With your busy schedule
and celiac disease, you probably could benefit from them Especially extra
B-12 (sublingual is best), a large multi vit (make sure it is gluten-free)
and a large B-complex. folic acid is a good ideaa, too.
> In the past people have suggested simple vs complex carbos as an
>alternative
I've been intending to try that diet - it relies heavily on meats, and
altho part of me says a vegetarian diet is healthy, my body seems to feel
better after well cooked meat.
---------------------------------------------
Faith ([log in to unmask]) wrote
I am not celiac, negative antibody blood test, but have recurrent gi distress,
am greatly interested in finding out what to eat that will make me feel good,
and what items cause me distress. My favorite soother is Cream of Rice, hot
cooked cereal available easily in US, with some maple syrup. Also I am
interested in what you say about carrots - they also seem to be good. The best
I ever felt was when I accompanied a friend on a two week toxin-cleansing diet
from a book called "Beyond Pritikin." Basic idea was this:
First two weeks, Ok foods:
leafy green vegetables, also broccoli, green beans, but not the starchy ones
like peas, also no starchy squash or carrots or other root vegies
fresh fruit, but not starchy ones like bananas
lean chicken or fish
start day with cup of warm water with squeeze of lemon
go for brisk 20 minute walk
eat small amount of vegies & fish for breakfast
1hour later drink glass of water
1hour later eat piece of fruit
1 hour later drink glass of water
1 hour later each small lunch similar to breakfast
1 hour later drink glass of water
1 hour later each piece of fruit
1 hour later drink glass of water
1 hour later each small dinner similar to breakfast
1 hour later drink glass of water
nothing more til morning.
Also take vitamins and GLA twice a day. GLA is the main ingredient of many
fish oils, some mouthful of a name, something like gamma linoleic acid??
Available here at health food stores, is a food supplement.
You are supposed to take some psillium twice a day - a brand name here is
Metamucil ((or Citrucel from a recent post)), but it is basically a powder that
provides high fiber, helps clean out the intestines. Also available here in
capsules, much more palatable.
Also you are supposed to have a teaspoon of "good" oil twice a day, oil such
as expeller pressed (that is, not heated in processing) safflower oil. You
can put it on the vegetables and/or fish.
Actually, the quantities of vegies was not limited. This diet was designed to
reduce cholesterol. After two weeks, you can add other things in, such as
starchy vegetables. I don't remember the rest so well. This was a wonderful
diet for feeling cleaned out & energetic, but I felt hungry all the time, and
eating out was nearly impossible.
Also at my house we like a soup we call Beeler Broth, source now forgotten:
Cook in filtered water:
"some":
green beans
celery, chopped
parsley, chopped
zucchini, sliced
When vegies are soft, make puree in blender or food mill. Add a little salt
to taste. Also sometimes we add tofu. Very comforting, satisfying. A good
choice to use to come off a one day fast, we find.
---------------------------------------------
Several others wrote that they found eating vegetables (carrots, celery)
also helpful at these times. One person wrote V8 juice helped him. It seems
vegetables are easier to digest than pasta and bread. And the "go right
through". I had vegetables straight for several days but forgot the fiber and
wound up with very hard stools.
So the bottom line can be similar to the elimination diet by which I
discovered my celiac problem: eliminate all suspected allergens (sugar, wheat,
soy, corn, eggs, milk can't remember the whole list but there were 8) and vary
your foods so that you eat one food for 24 hours and the next day a different
food. Don't repeat a food more than once every four days. That way your system
can calm down if a food bothers you. It was a hard diet, but the sense of it
can be well applied to the healing gut!
Hope this helps. Sorry for the long post.
Yours, still healing (and a bit hurting still)
Martha Teeter
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