Food / Diet Ideas

[xlynx]

Hiya,

I am currently on a sugar, dairy, wheat and gluten free diet. I also cant tolerate nuts and seeds.

The other day I was reading about how fish can contain mercury and this can be bad for pwc and should be avoided yet others say eat it 3 times a week. I also read a post here about someone stopping fish and that helped them.

Also fruits. I have read that the best fruits for pwc are berries because they are acidic and contain less sugar but equally I have read that creating a more alkaline environment is better and so avoid berries.

Also I keep hearing dark chocolate is good and bad any one know if so and what type is best?

As I am just starting to focus on my diet more I wander if anyone can share any information about diet ideas and information that has been helpful to them. Also if anyones hiding any secret food recipes up their sleeve please do share!

Any useful websites or books to check out would be great. :Retro smile:

 

[brenda]

Hi xlynx

I am also gluten dairy and sugar free and have also added pulses or rather taken them away. Wild salmon is the safest fish. It would be good if you could get tested to see what your alkaline/acid balance is. I am not sure if the urine test done at home is accurate enough. As for dark chocolate, you should only be eating organic 85%+. I make my own
I use either cacao butter which you can get from Shazzie's site

http://www.detoxyourworld.com/acatalog/food_and_superfoods.html

or I have used coconut iol to make truffles - sweetened with argave syrup.

Another treat I have is banana pieces dipped in dark chocolate and then dreid coconut or nuts then frozen.

I am finding my way towards raw vegan.

 

[flybro]

Excellent questions,

I'm trying the same, just trying to go gluten, wheat, sugar, and lactose free.

I like milk in my 3/4 cups of a tea a day, so we're using lactose free. Lactose free cheese seems OK aswell.

I am as confused as you as to the comflicfting info on diets.

The most likely explanation for this is that it depends on which area of our bodies are most effected by the disease.

It would be great if we could have a nutrtionist on board.

How fantastic would be if the NHS, asked a nutrionist to work with us on this board. Just a few hours a week.

 

[brenda]

I don't know if I would trust an NHS nutritionist - they do not like vegan diets for a start.Well maybe not long term but many people heal themselves on a raw vegan diet. And then, we are all different and unless we are working with a naturapath, it is guesswork and trial and error to find out what suits us best. One easy way is to fast for a few days then you know what suits you when you expand your diet. I found out that pulses are out because of a recent enforced fast - salmonella.

There are things where you cannot go wrong - and the superfoods on Shazzies site are usually safe. I have ordered myself some protein powder made from sprouted rice so that I can cut down on meat. Next I want a dehydrator.

 

[willow]

Have you tried looking at it a bit differently, instead of which foods you should avoid trying 'listening' to which foods help you feel better? Better might be satiated, energised, balanced, alert or something else. For me it's easier to plan meals from a range of 'good' foods rather than try and avoid the bad ones.

My current particular loves are raw carrots, white cabbage, pears and oranges, a mixture of lemon juice, parsley and garlic, and cooked apple so most days or every other day I'll have those. Also I sense I need more animal protein just now as when I eat it my body almost heaves a sigh of relief, but for best results I need to vary it.

Controversially I do eat a fair amount of fish. From the metals angle I'm not happy about it, but it's one of the few sources of protein i can handle, and these days my body is asking me for protein.

Good Luck with it!- for me diet is a realively safe and inexpensive way of keeping my health stable

willow

 

[maryb]

There are things where you cannot go wrong - and the superfoods on Shazzies site are usually safe. I have ordered myself some protein powder made from sprouted rice so that I can cut down on meat. Next I want a dehydrator.

Hi Brenda I've looked at the site but can't find the rice protein powder, can you tell me the name of the product. Thanks

 

[Hysterical Woman]

Willow - mercury content in fish

Have you tried looking at it a bit differently, instead of which foods you should avoid trying 'listening' to which foods help you feel better? Better might be satiated, energised, balanced, alert or something else. For me it's easier to plan meals from a range of 'good' foods rather than try and avoid the bad ones.

My current particular loves are raw carrots, white cabbage, pears and oranges, a mixture of lemon juice, parsley and garlic, and cooked apple so most days or every other day I'll have those. Also I sense I need more animal protein just now as when I eat it my body almost heaves a sigh of relief, but for best results I need to vary it.

Controversially I do eat a fair amount of fish. From the metals angle I'm not happy about it, but it's one of the few sources of protein i can handle, and these days my body is asking me for protein.

Good Luck with it!- for me diet is a realively safe and inexpensive way of keeping my health stable

willow

Hi Willow,

Here is a link to a site listing which fish have the most mercury. There are of course heavy metals, but the mercury seems to be a huge bugaboo.

http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/guide.asp

HTH,

Maxine

 

[brenda]

protein powder

http://www.red23.co.uk/Protein-Meal-Replacements_c_43.html?osCsid=89h0kr0o1hmqm7dcjk3ioheks2

 

[xlynx]

double post

 

[xlynx]

Oh Brenda I love this dark chocolate dipped banana idea! I am ordering that now! I dont care if it I have to suffer after I need to feel indulgence just one a week. I am guessing you don't use any sugar and maybe using stevia or something or I supposed the banana is sweet enough, I cant believe I did not think of this before. Also I can only see raw white cocoa butter is that the one you use, also is there a dark one?

Hey Maxine thanks for link info about metals in fish, I am glad to see Salmon in the safe zone as I eat that 3 times a week. Its a damn shame to see Tuna at the top there as I was a big Tuna fan

Hi Willow how do you cook the apple? I have a feeling that my cooked apple might fall into that chocolate sauce with the banana.

Hey Flybro, is that decaf tea? Also are you talking about cows milk made lactose free? I seem to do ok on sheeps cheese, is lactose free better than that?

 

[Victoria]

xlynx

Everybody is different & has different nutritional needs.
I believe the best way to design your diet is work out what suits you.

You need to work out what's right for you at this time in your life.

I eat a high protein low carb diet - this works for me. Most people with CFS/FM improve by reducing carbs.

I eat a couple of meals of organic red meat, 2 meals of fresh salmon, a couple of meals of turkey breast, some organic free range eggs & a few organic nuts & seeds (mainly organic walnuts). I try to stick to fresh organic fruit & veg if affordable. I don't especially like eggs but try to eat 3-4 a week (I buy a dozen each month & try to get through that amount).

I also believe that you need a treat every now & then - don't deprive yourself too much or you'll only crave things more.

I don't eat it, but a couple of squares of dark organic chocolate a day seems like a good idea. I don't like dark chocolate, but it is the best for you.

Try to reduce you intake of coffee (especially instant which is disgusting in my view), normal tea or any artificial drinks.

Drink green tea which is supposed to be better for you (I don't, because I don't like it). I prefer organic chamomile tea.

Eat fruit including the fibre (instead of fruit juice which is too high in sugars). I eat berries in the summer - mainly blueberries & raspberries, but strawberries if the organic ones aren't too expensive. Every internet site says commercial strawberries are the highest food in pesticides & chemicals.

I eat foods high in anti-oxidants. I try to eat lots of colourful food - a visual feast is more enticing than bland, overcooked boring looking platefuls.

Unless you especially love cooking, try to stick to simple organic fresh foods (no additives, food colourings, preservatives or any kind of processed food).

Big salads in summer & plenty of different coloured steamed vegetables (or roasted without fat) all year around.

I used to be a very good cook, but now find it's cheaper & less energy wasting to just prepare simple meals. I don't cook with salt (unless I'm making chicken stock where salt is essential to bring out the flavour of the chicken), but I do add freshly ground rock salt to my meat & veg when serving.

Experts say salt is bad for you - I disagree - our body needs some salt, just not as much as the average western person consumes each day.

Moderation is the key.

 

[brenda]

Yes it is the white cocoa butter I use. I melt it and add agave syrup that I get at my organic supermarket and then cocoa powder, sometimes I use the nibs and grind them. Just keep tasting to get the mixture you want - I never measure it - I guess about 50 % cocoa butter. This sets in the fridge and I put it on rice cakes too. For truffles, I use coconut oil instead and add maca powder and if I am feeling really naughty I add a little rum The chocolate bars on Shazzie's site are really GOOD - AND HEALTHY!

You can of course just use shop bought chocolate and if you just have a few pieces of the banana chunks a day then you are not taking in too much sugar, but I prefer to do without it.

 

[willow]

Hi Maxine,

Thank you! I have used that, must save it. Truth is I'm a bit toxic metal neurotic and long to tolerate some nice organic chicken

Willow

 

[Chris]

Food stuff

Hi; why not start from a basis in the best food science currently available, which in the opinion of many is Colin Campbell, "The China Study," strongly vegetarian and low fat (he is Prof. Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell U, not the latest fad diet peddlar), and then move out from there in whatever directions seem dictated by your own responses or suggestions from people you trust? Cheney advocates a largely raw veg diet, I believe. Best, Chris

 

[maryb]

protein powder

http://www.red23.co.uk/Protein-Meal-Replacements_c_43.html?osCsid=89h0kr0o1hmqm7dcjk3ioheks2

Thanks for the link to this site Brenda - lots of good stuff on there

 

[Dr. Yes]

Bear in mind, though, that the 'safety' of those fish is based on the EPA's determination of 'safe mercury levels' in our diet. I don't know that there really is a "safe" amount of mercury intake, and certainly the levels the EPA considers safe are far higher than I'm comfortable with. Since mercury accumulates in the body over time, I don't know how the EPA calculated a safe level for long-term ingestion. And also note that the EPA's guidelines are for healthy adults, not for people who may be highly vulnerable to toxic metals.

There are other things in ocean and freshwater food chains besides mercury, such as PCBs, that are a cause for concern to all of us, unfortunately.

 

[Hysterical Woman]

Bear in mind, though, that the 'safety' of those fish is based on the EPA's determination of 'safe mercury levels' in our diet. I don't know that there really is a "safe" amount of mercury intake, and certainly the levels the EPA considers safe are far higher than I'm comfortable with. Since mercury accumulates in the body over time, I don't know how the EPA calculated a safe level for long-term ingestion. And also note that the EPA's guidelines are for healthy adults, not for people who may be highly vulnerable to toxic metals.

There are other things in ocean and freshwater food chains besides mercury, such as PCBs, that are a cause for concern to all of us, unfortunately.

Hi Dr. Yes,

All good points and right on target. Eventually it makes it difficult to eat fish. If you look long enough, you can find negative aspects on almost every one. Sigh. Even with tilapia which I believe is listed as low in mercury on this list, is high in Omega 6's which is not good. It becomes a game of least damaging.

Thanks for your insights,

Maxine

 

[xchocoholic]

Well, here I am awake in the middle of the night because I was busy yesterday and didn't eat enough. Sooo, eating enough is a good idea too ... :Retro wink: I know now if I wake up hungry (as in, all I can think of is FOOD) a few hours after falling asleep that I really just need to eat.

In the beginning, I found all the diet info very confusing too ... It seems someone is always plugging either the SCD, candida, body ecology, GFCF, Paleo, low oxalate, low carb, Atkins, eat right for your blood type, etc . I took my cue from the DAN (Defeat Autism Now) guidelines since they say PWCs have so much in common with autistic kids. At least, I know that I do, since I have leaky gut. They have parents look at all possible food intolerances including Gluten, casien, phenols, oxalates, etc ... Food intolerances, esp gluten and casein, are known for causing nuero problems.

Then I added a few things to this since we know that our bodies need fat and nutrients from "superfoods". I could tell right away that I felt sick if I didn't eat enough clean meat several times a day. Other protein sources don't work for me. This is probably why the essential aminos are helping me so much now. My body isn't breaking down proteins like it should. And digestive enzymes, betaine and probiotics didn't help me break these down.

Now, I basically eat what foods make me feel good and don't cause a reaction. Gluten, dairy, soy, corn, egg whites, poultry, pork, grains and high oxalate foods are out for me. Some of these I figured out through stool testing and the others through trial and error. For me, the low oxalate diet is necessary to avoid kidney stones and vulvodynia but some research says that oxalates damage mitochondria, they may be a linked to Fibromyalgia, etc. The research on oxalates is ongoing ...

I actually use a little organic sugar in my organic coffee. Organic coffee (regular not decaf) has some great antioxidants in it so I 've been drinking a cup a day lately. I read on the web that adding a tiny speck of baking soda in the grounds when making it kills the acid in it too .. that's working well. Green tea makes me feel bad.

I say that I'm on a Paleo / low carb / low oxalate diet because of how I chose these when trying to heal myself from this DD. It's actually just select organic meats, fruits and veggies. I have chronic hypoglycemia and Dr. Myhill and others, recommend the Paleo diet to correct blood glucose problems. I don't feel well with too many carbs, especially grains. And I got kidney stones in 2007 that forced me into the low oxalate diet.

FWIW ... I don't think that a "diet" plan for regaining your health will work for anyone since everyone's bodies have different requirements, tastes and food intolerances.

Time for bed again ... tc ... Marcia

PS ... BJ's has some "clean" wild caught fish that I've been eating lately. Their brand of large bay scallops, salmon, shrimp and cod are all agreeing with me.

 

[Hysterical Woman]

Marcia

Well, here I am awake in the middle of the night because I was busy yesterday and didn't eat enough. Sooo, eating enough is a good idea too ... :Retro wink: I know now if I wake up hungry (as in, all I can think of is FOOD) a few hours after falling asleep that I really just need to eat.

Hi Marcia,

I wish I had the problem of not eating enough :Retro smile:. And yes, you need to eat. Hopefully you were able to fall back to sleep. Thanks for all of the information in this post, I appreciate it. Many of us are trying to hack our way thru the jungle of information out there regarding diet.

In the beginning, I found all the diet info very confusing too ... It seems someone is always plugging either the SCD, candida, body ecology, GFCF, Paleo, low oxalate, low carb, Atkins, eat right for your blood type, etc . I took my cue from the DAN (Defeat Autism Now) guidelines since they say PWCs have so much in common with autistic kids. At least, I know that I do, since I have leaky gut. They have parents look at all possible food intolerances including Gluten, casien, phenols, oxalates, etc ... Food intolerances, esp gluten and casein, are known for causing nuero problems.

Yes someone is always plugging a diet. I was following some of the Eat Right for Your Blood Type diet (Type A) and had some success with it. However, there was a guy at a health food store where I used to go who was very knowledgeable about herbs and supplements. He had been there for years and he said that CFS patients who came in to talk to him were actually doing better on a Type O diet rather than for their own type. At the time I was seeing an N.D. who had recommended the Blood Type diet to me. I asked her about eating like an O, didn't that fly in the fact of the concept. She said yes but not really that the needs of the body changes when you become ill.

I have done a little experimenting with doing the O diet, and I definitely feel better when I eat more animal protein. It's something that I don't want to do since I am sensitive to the way animals can be abused for our eating pleasure. As a result, I try to eat at much free range and/or grass fed as possible. Is that what you mean when you use the term "clean"?

Then I added a few things to this since we know that our bodies need fat and nutrients from "superfoods". I could tell right away that I felt sick if I didn't eat enough clean meat several times a day. Other protein sources don't work for me. This is probably why the essential aminos are helping me so much now. My body isn't breaking down proteins like it should. And digestive enzymes, betaine and probiotics didn't help me break these down.

Don't the B vitamins also help break down proteins?

Now, I basically eat what foods make me feel good and don't cause a reaction. Gluten, dairy, soy, corn, egg whites, poultry, pork, grains and high oxalate foods are out for me. Some of these I figured out through stool testing and the others through trial and error. For me, the low oxalate diet is necessary to avoid kidney stones and vulvodynia but some research says that oxalates damage mitochondria, they may be a linked to Fibromyalgia, etc. The research on oxalates is ongoing ...

Some info on oxalic acid from The Magnesium Miracle: "Oxalic acid, which is found in spinach and chard (among other foods), and phytic acid, found in the hulls of seeds and the bran of grains, can form insoluble compounds with magnesium and other minerals, causing them to be eliminated rather than absorbed. Cooking vegetables removes most of the oxalic acid, so steam spinach, chard, and other high-oxalic-acid vegetables instead of eating or juicng them raw." I don't think she is suggesting that you don't juice or eat green veggies raw, but that you will lose some magnesium doing so.

I actually use a little organic sugar in my organic coffee. Organic coffee (regular not decaf) has some great antioxidants in it so I 've been drinking a cup a day lately. I read on the web that adding a tiny speck of baking soda in the grounds when making it kills the acid in it too .. that's working well. Green tea makes me feel bad.

Glad to hear that you can have a little "treat" with the organic sugar and organic coffee.:Retro smile: Green tea also makes me feel bad. I wonder what causes that? I have mentioned it a couple of times to friends who offered me a cup of green tea and when I say it makes me sick they just look at me like I am from Mars. So, I don't tell people that anymore.

I say that I'm on a Paleo / low carb / low oxalate diet because of how I chose these when trying to heal myself from this DD. It's actually just select organic meats, fruits and veggies. I have chronic hypoglycemia and Dr. Myhill and others, recommend the Paleo diet to correct blood glucose problems. I don't feel well with too many carbs, especially grains. And I got kidney stones in 2007 that forced me into the low oxalate diet.

I also do better on a low carb diet, and thank goodness I have never had kidney stones - they sound awful.

FWIW ... I don't think that a "diet" plan for regaining your health will work for anyone since everyone's bodies have different requirements, tastes and food intolerances.

Wise words

Time for bed again ... tc ... Marcia

PS ... BJ's has some "clean" wild caught fish that I've been eating lately. Their brand of large bay scallops, salmon, shrimp and cod are all agreeing with me.

Again, Marcia, thanks for all the info and I hope you were able to sleep again. Unfortunately, I don't belong to BJ's or I would check out your recommendations there.

Take care,

Maxine

 

[xchocoholic]

Hi Marcia,

I wish I had the problem of not eating enough :Retro smile:. And yes, you need to eat. Hopefully you were able to fall back to sleep. Thanks for all of the information in this post, I appreciate it. Many of us are trying to hack our way thru the jungle of information out there regarding diet.



Yes someone is always plugging a diet. I was following some of the Eat Right for Your Blood Type diet (Type A) and had some success with it. However, there was a guy at a health food store where I used to go who was very knowledgeable about herbs and supplements. He had been there for years and he said that CFS patients who came in to talk to him were actually doing better on a Type O diet rather than for their own type. At the time I was seeing an N.D. who had recommended the Blood Type diet to me. I asked her about eating like an O, didn't that fly in the fact of the concept. She said yes but not really that the needs of the body changes when you become ill.

I have done a little experimenting with doing the O diet, and I definitely feel better when I eat more animal protein. It's something that I don't want to do since I am sensitive to the way animals can be abused for our eating pleasure. As a result, I try to eat at much free range and/or grass fed as possible. Is that what you mean when you use the term "clean"?



Don't the B vitamins also help break down proteins?



Some info on oxalic acid from The Magnesium Miracle: "Oxalic acid, which is found in spinach and chard (among other foods), and phytic acid, found in the hulls of seeds and the bran of grains, can form insoluble compounds with magnesium and other minerals, causing them to be eliminated rather than absorbed. Cooking vegetables removes most of the oxalic acid, so steam spinach, chard, and other high-oxalic-acid vegetables instead of eating or juicng them raw." I don't think she is suggesting that you don't juice or eat green veggies raw, but that you will lose some magnesium doing so.



Glad to hear that you can have a little "treat" with the organic sugar and organic coffee.:Retro smile: Green tea also makes me feel bad. I wonder what causes that? I have mentioned it a couple of times to friends who offered me a cup of green tea and when I say it makes me sick they just look at me like I am from Mars. So, I don't tell people that anymore.



I also do better on a low carb diet, and thank goodness I have never had kidney stones - they sound awful.



Wise words



Again, Marcia, thanks for all the info and I hope you were able to sleep again. Unfortunately, I don't belong to BJ's or I would check out your recommendations there.

Take care,

Maxine

Hi Maxine,

You did a wonderful job of editing here but, I'm going to be lazy :Retro wink: and just answer your questions all at one time.

I finally fell back to sleep around 5 am but much to my surprise I awoke at 12:45 pm ... This is gonna be a short day ... I'm thinnish and have always had to keep my weight up by eating enough calories. My current diet makes that a challenge somedays ...

I'm not surprised that your ND misguided you. It seems that there is a lot of misinformation out there. We see this all the time in the gluten free world. Most celiacs aren't even tested for nutritional deficiencies.

I'm glad you figured this out .. We have some good people at our HFSs here too but they're not really up on CFS. Most are just recommending Dr. T's supplements blindly !!! His products never worked for me. The powder made me jerk so it has gluten in it. Even the company said they couldn't guarantee it's GF. And his vitamin supplement made me feel toxic. I have to wonder how his patients handle this. I assume he has no clue about leaky gut and how to treat it. What a waste of resources.

I'm type O so the eat right for your blood type was working for me, except as it turns out, that I wasn't breaking down my proteins properly. I never read the book I just followed my gut instinct ... I noticed a couple of years ago that I felt soooo much better right after eating "clean" (free from as many toxins as possible but not necessarily organic) meat. The feeling never lasted though .. and yes ... I told my doctors who just looked at me like they'd never heard of someone who felt better from eating "meat".

I've been healthy at rest (this was mainly from eliminating ALL gluten but I'm sure the other toxins I removed helped too) and would start feeling a little weak after being active for 20 minutes for over 2 years now. You'd think this little tidbit would mean something to a medical professional. At that point a freind on the internet told me about how our bodies use up available glucose in 20 minutes and so she thought that my liver wasn't producing glucose like it should ... well that fit right into the chronic hypoglycemia diagnosis. And then I read what Myhiill said about most of her CFS patients having chronic hypoglycemia ... and there you have it ... the Paleo diet was the most reasonable choice since it's been proven to correct blood glucose problems ... I really wonder how many here would benefit from this alone. Within a few weeks on this diet I wasn't feeling weak when I woke up in the am ... :Retro smile: It took me over a year, maybe 2 years ?, to get my blood glucose problems fixed though. My fasting glucose level on my last test shows this ...

I'm not sure if B vitamins help breakdown proteins but according to my labs, I'm good on all of those. My numbers were comign up via diet and not by taking anything ... Last year, I took Metagenics Vessel Care which is what Rich recommends but in a stronger form. I just ran out and with my numbers being so good didn't bother to buy it again .. I never found a B complex I could take without getting a UTI. Well other than the Emergenc ... I really don't know if I need one.

Boiling greens helps to eliminate some oxalates but I'll get vulvodynia back if I eat too many of these ... I make a dehydrated kale (from boiled kale) that is to die for and if I eat too much I get my symptoms back ... The vulvodynia symptoms only last for a few hours but I'm sure these just means my body is struggling to correct this in other areas too. No need to play with kidney stones ... for up to date info on oxalates check out Susan Owens site on oxalates. She's a current DAN oxalate researcher who stays up on this. IMHO, I'd ignore anyone except her ...

I'm sure other discount stores would have similar deals on meats ... Sam's, Costco, etc ... You just have to read the labels to see where it's from. The scallop pkg was tricky ... The call their small scallops bay scallops too but those are farm raised ... I didn't do well with BJ's ground bison or Harvestland Chicken ... the dogs did though ... :Retro wink:

Tc ... Marcia