Eating easy to digest food!

[xchocoholic]

Yes, here's my diet
for breakfast, rice chex, crispies with 2percent milk.

Lunch, wheat (not whole grains) bread or noodles or rice, with curry or ketchup, something low fat.

Snack- low fat popcorn, chips, bread and jam, etc

Dinner- cracked wheat cooked, lentil curry, potatoes, etc.

I eat spinach cooked, sometimes

I eat 3-4 egg whites boiled a day.

I use Unifiber and generic Miralax.

Of course, there are times I get some candy, honey, etc.

Fermented dairy like yogurt, cheese, make me worse. Calcium can always be taken in pills without combining it with fatty dairy.

Your diet lacks nutrients. Dr wahls explains the importance of this. She had to learn this on her own after getting ms.

Digestive enzymes work on specific foods. Enzymedica makes a variety of enzymes based on what you're eating. These work for me.

Hth ... x

 

[shah78]

I had continued for months eating foods, without realizing that they were worsening my fatigue. Since I was fatigued all day, every day for months, I could not notice the worsening that these foods caused. Here are some changes I made to my diet. Every patient should eventually develop his or her own diet based on careful observations of effects, often delayed by days or a week, of different foods. However, I believe that there is a common theme here, that of eating easy to digest foods.

Foods require mechanical and enzymatic digestion.

1. I don't eat complex carbs, like whole oats, for e.g..

2. I don't eat foods with fat.

3. I don't eat animal protein, except egg whites.

4. I don't eat fibrous foods, like lettuce, for e.g..

5. I don't eat chewy foods, since that requires a lot of mechanical digestion.

I can say that these definitely help!

With all due respect. This diet can not be of any help.! Danger, Danger! .... This diet is the epitome of what gave me (us). CFS in the first place. No animal fat and no animal protein. ,processed cereal, wheat. If you don't believe me, read Myhill M.D., or better yet Kurt Harris, MD or Sisson,Jaminet or even Kruse M.D.. This diet is a roadmap to depression, fatigue, impotence. This is a statin drug on a plate. Google: Stephanie Sennef PHD

 

[shah78]

There is something called EVOLUTION. We evolved for two million years eating large amounts of saturated fat and animal protein. Defying Mother Nature eventually leads all of us to this website!

 

[Dr.Patient]

With all due respect. This diet can not be of any help.! Danger, Danger! .... This diet is the epitome of what gave me (us). CFS in the first place. No animal fat and no animal protein. ,processed cereal, wheat. If you don't believe me, read Myhill M.D., or better yet Kurt Harris, MD or Sisson,Jaminet or even Kruse M.D.. This diet is a roadmap to depression, fatigue, impotence. This is a statin drug on a plate. Google: Stephanie Sennef PHD

This is the diet that helps my fatigue. I have eaten other things, and they worsened my fatigue. Everybody needs to become their own scientist, try different things, and see what works for them.

 

[xchocoholic]

This is the diet that helps my fatigue. I have eaten other things, and they worsened my fatigue. Everybody needs to become their own scientist, try different things, and see what works for them.

Hi again. I'm not trying to be a pest. But ... some people are seeing a some degree of success from certain diets.

Are you familiar with the elimination diet ? That may be enough for some but it's not uncommon for those with chronic illnesses to NEED a paleo diet to reduce inflammation. Our bodies have become over reactive to common food intolerances.

You may be able to add inflammatory foods like the ones you're currently eating back into your diet after your body has recovered but not necessarily.

Integrative or holistic doctors will run the appropriate tests to see where your digestion, digestive enzymes or nutrients are off.

And any of these doctors can explain to you why an inflammatory diet is bad for you or anyone. But you can find dietary health info on the web by googling integrative or functional medicine.

Good luck. X

 

[WillowJ]

fwiw, I ate whole grains, vegetables, grass-fed beef, legumes, and nuts when I was healthy. Even barley greens, yogurt, cod liver oil, and royal jelly. I am the foil to "diet causes ME/CFS".

 

[brenda]

This is the diet that helps my fatigue. I have eaten other things, and they worsened my fatigue. Everybody needs to become their own scientist, try different things, and see what works for them.

Doc, it may be that the foods you are eating are so low in necessary nutrients, that they are not enabling your liver to do its detoxification work, and when you try to eat better this starts taking place so you will feel worse. I agree with the others and it is very low in nutrients.

We need to be eating foods that pack the nutrients in, like for example chia seeds and other 'superfoods'. I make gluten, dairy, egg, free cakes in my dehydrator which consists of home soaked and sprouted ground buckwheat. You could have a smoothie for breakfast which contains a number of these superfood powders, found at raw vegan supply outlets. Eating this way is preserving my life even if it is not curing me. I am 64 and not taking any medications which is rare I believe even in reasonably healthy people at my time of life.

 

[MeSci]

Yes, here's my diet
for breakfast, rice chex, crispies with 2percent milk.

Lunch, wheat (not whole grains) bread or noodles or rice, with curry or ketchup, something low fat.

Snack- low fat popcorn, chips, bread and jam, etc

Dinner- cracked wheat cooked, lentil curry, potatoes, etc.

I eat spinach cooked, sometimes

I eat 3-4 egg whites boiled a day.

I use Unifiber and generic Miralax.

Of course, there are times I get some candy, honey, etc.

Fermented dairy like yogurt, cheese, make me worse. Calcium can always be taken in pills without combining it with fatty dairy.

I just wrote a message and it disappeared!

I and others have actually improved dramatically on gluten-free, dairy-free, low-grain and no-added-sugar diets. Such diets are advised by a number of scientists such as Michael Maes. They are leaky-gut diets, and leaky gut is suspected of being a cause of ME, by allowing inappropriate substances into the bloodstream, producing autoimmunity.

I have plenty of fat but don't seem to tolerate hot spices.

It's essential to give the gut flora the foods that create a healthy balance.

Your diet would cause me serious problems!

 

[MeSci]

This is the diet that helps my fatigue. I have eaten other things, and they worsened my fatigue. Everybody needs to become their own scientist, try different things, and see what works for them.

Your fatigue reduction may be because your inflammatory diet creates 'false energy' (adrenaline/noradrenaline) that in turn will lead to you exceeding your aerobic threshold, pushing your mitochondria into anaerobic energy production, producing metabolic acidosis and perpetuating the illness.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but a diet that gives you less energy may actually give your body a better chance of recovering, by making you rest more.

Then eventually (theoretically) your body may recover and you will have more 'healthy' energy available again.

But the longer you keep producing 'false energy' and consequently over-exerting yourself, the less chance of eventual recovery, IMO.

 

[Dr.Patient]

But the longer you keep producing 'false energy' and consequently over-exerting yourself, the less chance of eventual recovery, IMO.

This is a great truth, a great statement! This is what I'm worried about in people who want to take Ritalin. This post is found in the thread Mitochondrial tests and treatments.

Back to my diet, if I eat anything fatty or fibrous or nonveg, I feel draining very quickly. I am getting all my nutrients with my foods and supplements, have no deficiencies.

 

[rwac]

Back to my diet, if I eat anything fatty or fibrous or nonveg, I feel draining very quickly. I am getting all my nutrients with my foods and supplements, have no deficiencies.

I think you might benefit from reading Ray Peat. You already seem to be experiencing the benefits of easily digestible carbs, sugar, etc.

Have you tried refined coconut oil or ghee?

 

[xchocoholic]

fwiw, I ate whole grains, vegetables, grass-fed beef, legumes, and nuts when I was healthy. Even barley greens, yogurt, cod liver oil, and royal jelly. I am the foil to "diet causes ME/CFS".

Hi @WillowJ.

I'm not sure I understand this. Are you saying your diet prior to getting me proves that diet isn't the cause of me ? If so, I never heard that it was. Except maybe from people who's opinion about me/cfs I didn't trust anyways.

Most of the "healthy" people I know eat the standard american diet which is mostly nutrient deficient garbage full of toxic chemicals. Taking a walk through most grocery stores prove this.

Most of these "healthy" or "functional" people have high bp, high cholesteral, diabetes, are overweight and have other "normal" health problems tho. In today's society, if you can pop a pill and remain functional, you're "normal".

From what I understand those with chronic illnesses like ME need to avoid these foods due to leaky gut and our bodies inability to process toxins.

From what I've seen the paleo diet is the most highly recommended because it eliminates common food intolerances and toxins. And provides bio-available nutrients. Granted it's tough for most people, esp pwcs to keep up with. I feel best paleo but finally added in a few gf grains for convenience.

Just to be clear because I hate when people blame diet for all chronic illnesses .. Most of my ME symptoms were from eating foods I was intolerant of, esp gluten. Not that I was a saint, lol, but diet didn't cure my ME. I still have constant OI and PEM. People's results from dietary changes vary based on multiple health factors. Dr Wahls story exemplifies this.

Fwiw, I was eating whole grains, esp wheat, several times a day when I got celiac disease in 2005. I'm guessing it took awhile before eating these finally destroyed my villi. As a celiac with the DQ2 gene, the potential was always there. My brain was damaged tho. I had ataxia and white lesions.

Tc .. x

 

[WillowJ]

hi @xchocoholic , some other people on this thread strongly implied that diet was the cause of illness in general including ME/CFS. I agree that poor nutrition doesn't do anyone any favors and could hasten or exacerbate whatever illness was already in the works for them. But like you, I don't think diet "causes" ME/CFS.

My personal philosophy on organized diets such as paleo is that people may feel better on them because, as you say, they eliminate some item that was a problem for them. Or in some cases because they help people eat more healthy food when they weren't previously. I think it's most likely unnecessary for most people to use a specified diet plan to achieve this unless that's what works for them to organize their kitchen cupboard, although I have heard stories of people's MS going into remission through diet (though for the person I knew of IRL, it eventually came back although he continued to follow the diet).

(I have tried several specific diet plans, and they did nothing for me except wear me out, although adding foods back may have helped me identify intolerances--unless I am just not making the right enzymes after eliminating the foods; in some cases it's hard to be sure)

Yeah, I can't eat most whole grains, legumes, etc. any longer as I can't tolerate them. I do the best I can to get good nutrition, but I worry. I don't have celiac or a problem with wheat or gluten, but I have to watch all kinds of fiber and other "good" things. I feel much better if I eat some carefully-chosen grain, as my stomach feels more settled and I seem to digest things better. But everyone is different.

I'm sorry it took so long to find your celiac that stuff was damaged. I don't know why doctors don't think about this more.

 

[ukxmrv]

In the years before I developed ME (acute viral onset) I tried to follow conventional advice on diet. Added more whole grains and salads. Cut down on fats and substituted margarine for butter as an example. Ate less meat and more veges. At that time I could digest them.

After about the first year of ME and lots of AB's for the infections I had the digestive problems started.

I don't know if my change of diet contributed to developing ME. The viral onset was severe and out of the blue.

However, it was noticeable the number if things that I could not tolerate (stomach pain, nausea, vomiting etc) were the so-called healthy ones.

 

[xchocoholic]

I have less trouble with legumes like pintos and navy beans if I soak them for 24 hours, rinse them thoroughly, remove as many skins as possible and cook them till they're mushy. And I scoop off any foam that forms on top.

Lentils and red kidney beans are too difficult for me to digest.
Actually it's the skins I can't handle.

I've been enjoying pinto beans with Mexican spices for several months now. Add some Daiya gfdfsf pepperjack cheese (gf garbage), some ground turkey taco meat, mexican rice or gf tortilla shell (gf garbage) and it's better than some Mexican restaurants.

Then I need digestive enzymes esp the one for beans. Enzymedica makes one called Bean Assist. I need digestive enzymes for everything tho.

Cellulase helps break down cellulose if you want to eat more raw veggies. Enzymedica explains what enzymes to use for what foods.

So far these are working for me. Kow. Although I can't eat a ton of meat or after 7 pm and expect digestive enzymes to work.

Tc ... x

 

[MeSci]

In the years before I developed ME (acute viral onset) I tried to follow conventional advice on diet. Added more whole grains and salads. Cut down on fats and substituted margarine for butter as an example. Ate less meat and more veges. At that time I could digest them.

After about the first year of ME and lots of AB's for the infections I had the digestive problems started.

I don't know if my change of diet contributed to developing ME. The viral onset was severe and out of the blue.

However, it was noticeable the number if things that I could not tolerate (stomach pain, nausea, vomiting etc) were the so-called healthy ones.

Like an awful lot of people, I too followed conventional nutritional advice - for decades. It's now slowly becoming understood by more and more people that most of us are actually better off with saturated fat (at least for cooking and in processed products) than polyunsaturated - especially instead of polyunsaturated oils high in omega-6.

Unheated virgin monounsaturated and omega-3 oils are fine/good, as are those found naturally in food.

I don't know how cooking fish affects the omega-3s in them, but fish does seem to be healthy so maybe it's OK (raw fish brings its own hazards!).

I stopped using margarine a year or so ago and switched to coconut oil.

Antibiotics are notorious for causing gut dysbiosis, but there seem to be conflicting findings as to whether these can be long-lasting.

 

[SpecialK82]

@SpecialK82 I gave up gluten over a year ago. After about 6 months, my IBS cleared. That alone has stopped my downward spiral and I'm spending fewer days in bed and more on the sofa. It took me a few months to stop dairy, but I finally just recently succeeded (!) by giving it up slowly.

I combined a low-histamine list with a low-sulfur list and work from that.

I'm a 2 on the functional scale, so cooking is very difficult. Some days, my diet is dictated by an inability to swallow, let alone chew. On those days, Muscle Milk satisfies my need for protein. May I ask why you chose Glucerna?

I will eventually try to re-introduce other foods, but for now this is keeping me from histamine reactions and helping with the migraines.

@SDSue Congratulations on clearing up your IBS, that's quite a feat! Are you eating any store-bought GF bread? I haven't found any that I love from the store but I have found a recipe that I put in the bread maker and that's pretty good. I do miss hamburger buns the most though. I tried a GF pizza crust but didn't care for it. Also, I worry about the other junk that they add to GF products like tons more sugar.

I can see why you stopped diary slowly, I just can't wrap my brain around it. I eat a lot of yogurt now because it's easy to digest, easy to add Benefiber to, good for bacteria, and doesn't require cooking when I'm exhausted which is most if the time. I am struggling with what to in place of it. I am still eating almonds for the protein (and especially because it involves no cooking) so I hadn't linked it to my digestion issues until now, wow. I just found this article about it http://www.livestrong.com/article/495297-problems-with-digesting-raw-almonds/ and think I will try to blanch or soak them for a week or two to see if I feel any difference.

I just chose Glucerna because it's made for diabetics and I know people with high blood sugar as well as low blood sugar should be on essentially the same low sugar diet. Glucerna seems to relieve my AM headachey feeling quickly, unlike the protein powder drink I used to have. I also try to have only the liquid for a couple minutes before I put anything solid in my body so that it will absorb.

I am really mourning the days of being able to eat out, sometimes I can find things but it's getting more difficult.

Interesting about the low histamine foods, I haven't thought that far yet.

 

[SpecialK82]

......... Of everything I've given up, I miss ice cream the most.

I've recently tried SO Delicious Dairy Free Coconut Milk ice cream, and thought it was pretty good. No added sugar either, but is expensive.

 

[SDSue]

@SDSue Are you eating any store-bought GF bread?

I have slowly given up prepared, store-bought foods, except on desperate occasions (too sick to think, groceries not delivered, etc) Since I can't really cook much, it's been easier to eat simple whole foods. I can put a veggie on to boil, then lie down. I can put meat in a fry pan, then lie down. Etc.

When I first got so sick and had horrid IBS and vomiting, I lived on peanut butter. I needed easy and hi calorie. I now see that perhaps I was allergic to peanuts and made things worse. I've since given up all nuts.

I tried several times to go cold turkey on dietary offenders, and failed. Over time, however, replacing one item at a time, I've been able to do it. I hope to add foods back in, slowly, to better identify the problems.

I'll have to see about the Coconut Milk ice cream

 

[denmarker]

I had continued for months eating foods, without realizing that they were worsening my fatigue. Since I was fatigued all day, every day for months, I could not notice the worsening that these foods caused. Here are some changes I made to my diet. Every patient should eventually develop his or her own diet based on careful observations of effects, often delayed by days or a week, of different foods. However, I believe that there is a common theme here, that of eating easy to digest foods.

Foods require mechanical and enzymatic digestion.

1. I don't eat complex carbs, like whole oats, for e.g..
2. I don't eat foods with fat.
3. I don't eat animal protein, except egg whites.
4. I don't eat fibrous foods, like lettuce, for e.g..
5. I don't eat chewy foods, since that requires a lot of mechanical digestion.
I can say that these definitely help!

sorry for digging out an old thread. I am currently having problems eating too so did a good search and read many old threads.
I am curious to try out your suggestions
I am already reducing my meat intake, only eating proteins from eggs and milk currently.

will really try out 4 and 5 and update u guys