Help needed

[squirrel]

I suffer with chronic IBS (amongst other things) and am seeing an NHS dietician. At my latest apointment she suggested I may have a problem with "resistant starches" (seem to be the latest buzz words) and to try and cut them out for a trial period.

For those of you who don't know about resistant starches (I'd never heard of them) they are in potatoes, rice, pasta, bread and wheat products, sweetcorn, beans and, my favourite, crisps.

As this is largely what I eat I'm a bit stuck as to what to have.
Desperate for ideas for packed lunches please.

[paul]

Instaed of using rice, pasta spuds, try using red Quinoa said (KEEN-wah).
you can use it as a salad or cous- cous, try sprouting your own pulses and eating them raw(have a look at the raw section on this fourm.)

[Gliondrach]

In Patrick Holford's New Optimum Nutrition Bible he recommends rice, corn, millet and quinoa. He says they have no gluten. And also beans and lentils. He also recommends probiotics, vitamin C and glutamine.

In The Green Pharmacy, by James A. Duke, he recommends tea, valerian. And says that David Hoffmann uses chamomile and peppermint.

Good luck.

[thevegantwins]

As far as I know, the UK has similar gluten free products as the US which means, if you look around, you should be able to locate quinoa pasta and even other ok grains plus check with your doctor if the no potato rule refers even to sweet potatos which are a different being altogether because you can do loads of things with them. We can buy all sorts of different gluten free breads here as well. Look for a gluten free specialist who might stock loads of products that will be okay for you.

[Jippia]

Maybe you could make fruits and vegetables the majority of what you eat, raw or cooked or whatever, instead of those starches. You can make your own crisps from beetroots, big carrots and even fruit like apples and bananas. Are they ok for you? How about buckwheat and buckwheat pasta? They come in many different forms, though the availability may vary from shop to shop.

How are you doing now, by the way? Did the trial period show you anything?

[squirrel]

No success so far Jippa, thanks for asking.

If anything the increased fibre made things worse. I'm now trying a low fibre diet but still having problems - you don't want to know the details, trust me.

[Gliondrach]

I came across this info a few days ago when I was looking for something else. Melatonin might help in cases of IBD/S. We make melatonin from serotonin, which is made from tryptophan. It might be a good idea to make sure you have foods high in tryptophan. Very good sources are spirulina, soya beans, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Meat and eggs contain more but even meat eaters should avoid meat and eggs if they want to ensure they get enough. They contain too much protein and the amino acids compete with tryptophan to cross the blood-brain barrier. A meal high in carbohydrates stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin which results in those other amino acids being used for other things. This increases the ratio of tryptophan in the blood. The non-animal sources also have their own supplies of carbohydrates - which meat doesn't - which helps the tryptophan.

Make sure you sleep in a darkened room. Even a bit of light can interfere with melatonin production.

You should also ensure you have a vitamin B-complex tablet if you are trying to maximise your tryptophan stores because some tryptophan is converted into niacin in the body. If you are getting enough niacin your body won't try to use some of the tryptophan to make it.


Some info about melatonin here:
nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-melatonin.html

[gibby]

this is not uncommon but often the Drs havnt a clue about this.

What you may wish to do it to get tested for food intolerances first & cut out everything (to begin with) that is causing a problem - to give your system time to get back to normal

You then need to kick start your system by clearing all the stuff out of your system - some of it can lie in your digestive system for decades accroding to a dvd Ive just been watching.

Try using a product like this (http://www.alternativestores.com/ethical-shop/vitamins-minerals/health-essentials/organic-super-greens-with-rice-bran/prod_1942.html) which will clean out your system, give you alot of the nutrienst you need

I would also start using 2 tablespoon sof organic cider apple vinegar ( 1 twice a day) as it helps to boost the digestive juices in your gut.

Also take citricidal (http://www.alternativestores.com/ethical-shop/vitamins-minerals/health-essentials/citricidal-grapfruit-seed-extract-45ml/prod_1812.html) 4 times a day in water as it kills off any virus or bad bacteria that may ne lurking and helps to boost you natural immune system.
Also use if for when ever you get a cold etc rather than drugs as often it works far better

try to eat as much raw foods as you can in small amounts often - rather than big meals

also avoid all caffine, fizzy drinks, artificial sweeteners, MSG, processed sugars, alcohol.

If you can juice raw veg & low sugar fruits as this will boost up your system and the enzymes will help the gut.

Take a good multivitamin & mineral - not the cheapo stuff from boots etc
Drink plenty of filtered water
Take a good probiotic - supergreens will do thsi for you

Over the last year we have had many customers with exactly the same problem or have been diagnosed as gluten intolerant.

If you strip it all away, boost up your body for 90 days you will be amazed at how good you will feel.
You can then start adding all the other stuff back in slowly to see what causes the problem.

Hidden ingredients are often a probelm in food - we find whey powder is hidden in many breads that vegans are eating & its not vegan. Its really bad for irritating your system & gut.

If it is IBS good fibre will really help, cutting good fibre out will cause more harm and not help to fix the problem.

If can have a colonic as it speed everything up much faster

hope that helps & if you njeed more help just ask


G

[squirrel]

Thank you Gibby & Martin. Really good advice there. I shall do some research on your suggestions.

It's a difficult condition to manage as what works for one person doesn't for another.

Other the years I've identified and elimated many foods and drinks but I find after a while it all starts up again and I have to play detective again.