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Eating easy to digest food!

Dr.Patient

There is no kinship like the one we share!
Messages
505
Location
USA
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!
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
I get very weak indeed without animal protein and fats in my diet.

The worst things for me are fibrous foods, wholegrain and sulfurous veges.

Eating certain foods doesn't add to my fatigue but then again I'm not sure that the word fatigue covers my symptoms anyway. Mine are mainly viral and infections.
 

xchocoholic

Senior Member
Messages
2,947
Location
Florida
Have you tried digestive enzymes ? My digestive tract appreciates easy to digest foods but I miss the nutrients.

It may take time to find ones that work for you. I like Enzymedica brand. None of the others work as well for me. But that's just me.

Tc .. x
 

minkeygirl

But I Look So Good.
Messages
4,678
Location
Left Coast
I have IBS-C. There are many things I can't eat but in order to get the fiber I need from fruits and veggies I have not eat white carbs to prevent cramping and bloat. You have to have fiber in your diet.

It's common in sense to not eat things that make you sick or tired.

To get to a point where you don't eat chewy foods? I'm not about to limit myself to such an extent where I get no joy from what I eat.

If you get that tired just from just chewing your food then IMO something much bigger is going on.
 

maryb

iherb code TAK122
Messages
3,602
Location
UK
@Dr.Patient
I'm always interested in what other people eat. Can you give some examples of your daily food intake?
I gave up dairy, gluten, sugar, eggs etc etc a long time ago.
When I'm really sick the only thing I can do is practically suck gluten free toast........ so I get you on the chewy thing, it takes energy out of our muscles.
I tend to steam veg, brown rice and turkey all together so one pan cooking. Soft food but does need some chewing.
I need complex carbs and protein,

Today;
2 pieces gluten free toast
broccoli turkey and brown rice/olive oil
advocado, olives, feta cheese (I shouldn't but sometimes do for the calcium - I have osteoporosis)

I used to live on salads but gave up tomatoes a couple of weeks ago to see if they were causing me problems, but no difference so may just go back on them
 

Dr.Patient

There is no kinship like the one we share!
Messages
505
Location
USA
I get very weak indeed without animal protein and fats in my diet.

The worst things for me are fibrous foods, wholegrain and sulfurous veges.

Eating certain foods doesn't add to my fatigue but then again I'm not sure that the word fatigue covers my symptoms anyway. Mine are mainly viral and infections.
Do you have fatigue/weakness?
what is your function level on Bell's scale
 

Dr.Patient

There is no kinship like the one we share!
Messages
505
Location
USA
I have IBS-C. There are many things I can't eat but in order to get the fiber I need from fruits and veggies I have not eat white carbs to prevent cramping and bloat. You have to have fiber in your diet.

It's common in sense to not eat things that make you sick or tired.

To get to a point where you don't eat chewy foods? I'm not about to limit myself to such an extent where I get no joy from what I eat.

If you get that tired just from just chewing your food then IMO something much bigger is going on.

We need fiber to help with constipation, but I get that from insoluble Unifiber, not fibrous fruits and vegetables. Soluble fiber like Benefiber worsens constipation!

I don't get tired from chewing. If something is chewy, it means that my stomach has to spend more energy churning it.
 

minkeygirl

But I Look So Good.
Messages
4,678
Location
Left Coast
I use acacia fiber which has worked fine along with my diet for over 4 years. I need that kind of food it I feel ill.

If it ain't broke don't fix it.
 

wdb

Senior Member
Messages
1,392
Location
London
I'm the same, unless I eat easy to digest foods I just don't seem to be able to get enough food through me and get twice as fatigued. Lots of 'healthy' foods like vegetables and whole-grains just sit in my stomach for hours and don't supply any energy.
 

Dr.Patient

There is no kinship like the one we share!
Messages
505
Location
USA
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.
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
Do you have fatigue/weakness?
what is your function level on Bell's scale

I vary between 10-30 on the Bell scale for most years with short better periods at 50 now and then.

My main symptoms are sore throat, glands, flu-like symptoms, post exertional worsening, POTS, sinus and other infections, neuro type pain, muscle fatigability, cognitive problems, balance problems. My illness started as an acute viral one and I was well/happy before that and able to digest anything.

Thank you for asking.
 

SpecialK82

Ohio, USA
Messages
993
Location
Ohio, USA
Hmmm....I'm going through the same thing. I've recently been diagnosed with Delayed-Stomach Emptying which finally explains all the pain that I would have after a "healthy" meal. A couple of years ago, I decided that I felt better on a low-carb diet (simple carbs), and was living mainly on salads, veggies, lean meat, nuts, yogurt, etc.

Unfortunately, my stomach was not a fan. I kept thinking it was yeast or some such and continued on.

So my doc is now telling me that I have to live on white bread, noodles, etc, lean meat (beef only occasionally) and all my veggies should be "cooked-to-death". I am absolutely disheartened by this idea and am desperately looking for options. And all these white flours would just drive inflammation and drive my illness IMO.

But as you guys have pointed out, the nutrition isn't being take in from the other foods. I also have had a couple blood sugar tests performed in the morning (after I ate breakfast) that showed low blood sugar, so I absolutely know the food is not getting through fast enough. ( Right now as a stop-gap measure, I'm drinking Glucerna in the morning after I get up so that I can get some nutrition and little bit of sugar immediately.)

So we really need a subset of food that is easily digestible and not too inflammatory. So far here's my list:
- fish
- eggs
- spinach
- bananas
- watermelon

I will eat potatoes, or white rice in sheer desperation for food but trying not to make it a staple.

And like you guys said all this leads to increased constipation problems. My GI doc said to take Benefiber or Metamucil as that fiber gets through the stomach much easier than say, fiber from veggies. Also, my good "ME/CFS" doc suggested instead of cooking veggies down that I continue to cook veggies as I have been doing and then using a "Vitamix" or similar gadget. I haven't tried it yet but I believe it purees veggies (doesn't juice them).
 

SpecialK82

Ohio, USA
Messages
993
Location
Ohio, USA
@maryb , I've cut out gluten 3 months ago, and now need to cut out dairy and all sugar. I wouldn't mind doing it up except I just don't know what's left. I do like the foods in your meals listed above however. Do you eat any fruit at all? I think that would be the most difficult for me to give up.
 

SDSue

Southeast
Messages
1,066
@SpecialK82 and @maryb - my diet sounds a lot like yours. Salads, nuts, and heavy grains sat for hours in my stomach, so I've had to change it up.

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'm open to options.

My diet:
1. Rice
2. Non-sulfur, well-cooked veggies
3. Variety of meats (thanks Myhill!). I agree with others - I need the animal protein to feel good.
4. Snacks are puffed rice, rice Chex, and popcorn cooked in coconut oil.
5. Fruits are an occasional treat.

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

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

WillowJ

คภภเє ɠรค๓թєl
Messages
4,940
Location
WA, USA
yes, I have to find stuff that is easy to digest (and chew), also, and I also have trouble with fiber.

I have found certain kinds of fats I have to avoid, and certain kids are safe in moderation. Coconut oil, olive oil, and most nut oils, for example, are safe, and oddly for someone with so many intolerances, I can usually have butter and cream, and there is this one brand of sour cream that I might use instead of steak sauce (as there is little hope of safe steak sauce, and making chutney takes work).

I can have lean beaf and white poultry, and many kinds of fish (not all kinds). Also eggs.

For starch I eat sticky rice (it's good for digestion, and not enriched), occasional sweet potatoes, brown rice pasta (this is the main whole grain I can have: for some reason it breaks down easier), and a little white or GF baked goods. Sometimes white whole wheat (as opposed to red whole wheat, which seems more fibrous) baked goods.

I eat certain fruits and a limited amount/kind of well-cooked vegetables. I love veggies and I know they have healthy stuff, but my insides aren't happy with them, then I feel miserable, so there is not much I can do there right now.

A simple way to boost digestion is to start each meal with some fruit. This increases the acid in the stomach. Alternatively start with a small salad and a vinegar dressing. This is using food to boost digestion.

sometimes if I feel like I don't want to eat, I have a banana or some applesauce or some other kind of fruit I can have, and then I'll feel like eating. It's a nice trick.

Peppermint tea can also help with "not hungry/ not interested in food" or with nausea.
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
I will eat potatoes, or white rice in sheer desperation for food but trying not to make it a staple.
I have read that potatoes get a bad rap and are really nutritious if baked or boiled, preferably with the skin on, and seasoned with salt and pepper. Red potatoes have a lower glycemic index that white potatoes.

The problem is what people do to them - fry them, douse them in butter, douse them in cheese (yum!), douse them in gravy.
 

manna

Senior Member
Messages
392
Organic liver is the only meat i can digest. it has fat in it, apparently, but tastes dry. fat from animal meat is hard to digest and can be a component in intestinal crampinng. if the surface of your gut is compromised then i think its difficult for it to process anmal fat. you must have fat. hormones are made from it. i lost the hairs on my legs when i went fat free. ghee and cocnut oil are my preferred fats. nuts are too heavy for me. even then i find it hard to process fat once a day but the alternative has shown me that its worse not to. your lymph needs to fat to move. easy to overdo fat. i try for about a tablespoon a day in one serving. a bowl of amaranth provides a tablespoon of very easy to digest fat.

missing out wheat generally proves helpfull. I like food combining according the "hay diet". thats, basically, no concentrate starches to be eaten with concentrated proteins, at the same meal. thats easier to digest, less or no indigestion. i find i have to lie inclined after eating, for a couple of hours, otherwise the fact that it hasn't been processed as well as it could have been gives me more symotons. i do get up in that time but only briefly. oirganic is first base i think. in 89 one hospital in london had reported that many allergies abated when the patients ate organically and were reacting, previously, to the pesticides on the foods and their wider affects caused by a build up of in their system. fortunately the first organic shop in my area opened in 98 when i got ill. avoid fruit. hybridized to contain 50 times more sugar, according to the hippocrates institute. i like a plum sometimes. they taste fairly low g.i. when fresh. theres times i can't do them too.
 

maryb

iherb code TAK122
Messages
3,602
Location
UK
@maryb , I've cut out gluten 3 months ago, and now need to cut out dairy and all sugar. I wouldn't mind doing it up except I just don't know what's left. I do like the foods in your meals listed above however. Do you eat any fruit at all? I think that would be the most difficult for me to give up.

I'm not eating fruit at the moment - (Dr My-hill recommendation for possible fermenting gut) but I do miss it,
I can't eat berries ( I get severe eye droop as a reaction) but do like apples and pears.
Ah well maybe sometime in the future:)