food sensitivity (especially to grains) - how to resolve?

[uni]

Hi,

I am wondering why, ever since my health problems started I have became sensitive to foods, especially grains (not just gluten). I notice that if I don't eat any grains, my anxiety decreases, my heart doesn't beat as hard, less random pain in the body, and I have less brain fog. My main source of grains right now is actually white rice. Whole grains such as quinoa, amaranth, brown rice, actually make my brain fog worse, so I am probably reacting to the protein part of the grain. The thing is that I will have reactions within a few minutes of eating - when the food has not even reached the intestines.

The problem with not eating the foods I am sensitive to is that there will be nothing left to eat! Especially grains as I much prefer to have a larger source of carbs to fuel my brain. I have problems with fruits and tubers such as sweet potato since the fructose doesn't do well with my gut. It also becomes very socially restrictive to avoid all these foods. The main food I avoid right now is gluten.

Has anyone figured out how to reduce the food sensitivity? Do digestive enzymes work? Or I've also read a thread where someone made a recovery taking diamine oxidase - in that it allowed them to process histamine in the body. I'm thinking of trying these two things out. I've tried probiotics but no reduction in food sensitivity symptoms.

Another thought is that since many patients have reduced HPA output, the lack of cortisol makes us become allergic to many more things.

 

[Rockt]

We need to get Rich Van K to explain this better, but I don't think more carbs will "fuel your brain". It has to do with the Kreb's cycle and I'm woefully equipped to explain it, but I think reducing carbs helps the cycle , or makes it easier, to produce energy, (including mental energy). The fact that reducing grains helped you is a clue. I've benefitted physically from a low carb, hihger fat/protein diet, but not so much mentally, but maybe this takes longer. I know others have benefitted from a low carb diet also.

 

[Tony Mach]

The problem with not eating the foods I am sensitive to is that there will be nothing left to eat!

Have you tried a Paleo/Primal type of diet? There is lot's to eat:
- Fresh Meat, Fish
- Fruits
- Greens, vegetables, kraut,
- All kinds of tubers (but not white potatoes), yams, (real) sweat potatoe
- Plantains
- Eggs

Just to name what comes to my mind.

I am quite happy with this, everything tastes nice, I have no problems with getting enough and miss other stuff not often and the health improvements are more important to me than some comfort food. You should find something in there!

 

[nanciswell]

There are many food groups one can react to.. or really the chemical found in the food.. salicyalates is the natural pesticide that the plant kingdom manufactures which some people lack the enzyme to break down .. also amines, glutamates, casein, gluten, oxalates, etc
.. I made the mistake of not researching enough and taking the doctors advice , doctors who although treating chronic fatigue had no clue about food sesnitivty... and after 35 years of reacting I finally found support on groups on the computer. THe groups ... www.failsafediet.wordpress.com ... gives a good starting point.

My main problem could be an overload of oxalates ... lowoxalate.info causing weakening of my metabolic pathways.. and so I experiment now with that.. It is alot trial and error and success.. and courage to go through the process.

nanci

 

[kurt]

Have you tried a rotation diet?

An ELISA-ACT test might also be helpful, showing whether you have low-level allergies. I had an ELISA-ACT and found about 15 allergies, so avoided those foods for a few years. Eventually the allergies reduced.

 

[xrunner]

You're not mentioning what treatment you're on. That can exacerbate and trigger sensitivities.
The best ways to ascertain whether you really suffer from food sensitivities is through skin testing or muscle testing. Blood tests of any sort are not very accurate in my experience

The thing is that I will have reactions within a few minutes of eating - when the food has not even reached the intestines.
I had a similar problem a few years ago. In my case the reactions started as soon as the food entered my mouth.I ended up in casualty a few times as a result.

Has anyone figured out how to reduce the food sensitivity?
I only know of two approaches that work in practice. One is low-dose immunotherapy, i.e. desensitizing vaccines built around the specific foods one is sensitive to and which you inject under the skin every day. It works very well for a lot of people. Dr Rea and Dr Lieberman in the US have lots of experience with this therapy, in the UK the Breakspear. The other possible treatment is Naet which has worked well for me. Doctors usually also recommend a rotation diet to avoid overloading the immune system with continuous exposure to offending foods.

Do digestive enzymes work?
No. sensititivities have nothing to do with digesting food. It's an immune issue, the immune system reacting to a "foreign" substance.

Or I've also read a thread where someone made a recovery taking diamine oxidase - in that it allowed them to process histamine in the body. I'm thinking of trying these two things out. I've tried probiotics but no reduction in food sensitivity symptoms.
I'd tread carefully, sensitivities can escalate into full blown MCS if you handle them the wrong way. Probiotics are irrelevant for this problem

Another thought is that since many patients have reduced HPA output, the lack of cortisol makes us become allergic to many more things.[/QUOTE]
Not sure about this but I think it unlikely. Mine have come and gone without any perceptible change in HPA function. Sensitivities are often linked to certain pathogens like Lyme. Almost every Lyme patient I've met personally has had to deal with this problem at some point. Treatment seems to trigger it. There may be other health issues that could trigger it.

 

[SickOfSickness]

Food drives me crazy too, most of the time. I believe it's part of the illness to have overblown allergies and sensitivities to foods (and airborne allergens and other chemicals). Some people think probiotics help with allergies, but maybe that's healthy people only. Still, worth a try IMO.

 

[Waverunner]

Same here, lots of sensitivities. The only thing I found out is that you have to listen to your body. Certain probiotics, Vitamin D and GcMAF are a huge driver for allergies in me so I avoid them. Eating fewer and fewer foods make things worse and can contribute to even more sensitivities. Despite what other people say, with fructose malabsorption, fruits (healthy) are the wrong way to go. Again, listen to your body. The only thing that I found out which helped to some degree was avoiding sugars and at the same time trying to eat different foods. I don't know why but one of the only foods that reduced my sensitivity problem is a certain type of pizza (gluten, casein, all the bad stuff) from the super market with some cooked vegetable of my choice. For me it seems that it's not the single food that causes my allergies/sensitivities but it's rather the mix of foods and their form (cooked is always better than raw). You can try antihistamines but enzymes didn't work at all. A multivitamin+mineral every now and then probably is not a bad thing.

 

[nanciswell]

One of the worst aspects of food senistivity is that it is so hard to track down.. THe only thing that worked for me was a total elimation diet.. adding in one thing at a time.. I started with chicken which was thankfully okay.. has to be deskinned and cooked quickly like boiling..

Food reactions gave me huge highs.. so I had no idea that the reason I felt better on some supps was because of my sensitivity to it.. After doing the elimination diet and some homeopathics to calm my hormones, etc down I now can judge things soo much better..

nanci

 

[Waverunner]

Food reactions gave me huge highs.. so I had no idea that the reason I felt better on some supps was because of my sensitivity to it.. After doing the elimination diet and some homeopathics to calm my hormones, etc down I now can judge things soo much better..

nanci

I have the same problem. Some foods/supplements make me feel better because they cause a sensitivity/allergy reaction that pushes the body.

 

[uni]

Interesting, after I eat gluten I feel worse. But then if I wait a little longer, I do feel a little high. Seems like the food is causing an increase in sympathetic activity. Argh I wish I could just eat normally and feel no symptoms like most people, even though they eat all sorts of fast food junk food.

 

[Freddd]

Hi,

I am wondering why, ever since my health problems started I have became sensitive to foods, especially grains (not just gluten). I notice that if I don't eat any grains, my anxiety decreases, my heart doesn't beat as hard, less random pain in the body, and I have less brain fog. My main source of grains right now is actually white rice. Whole grains such as quinoa, amaranth, brown rice, actually make my brain fog worse, so I am probably reacting to the protein part of the grain. The thing is that I will have reactions within a few minutes of eating - when the food has not even reached the intestines.

The problem with not eating the foods I am sensitive to is that there will be nothing left to eat! Especially grains as I much prefer to have a larger source of carbs to fuel my brain. I have problems with fruits and tubers such as sweet potato since the fructose doesn't do well with my gut. It also becomes very socially restrictive to avoid all these foods. The main food I avoid right now is gluten.

Has anyone figured out how to reduce the food sensitivity? Do digestive enzymes work? Or I've also read a thread where someone made a recovery taking diamine oxidase - in that it allowed them to process histamine in the body. I'm thinking of trying these two things out. I've tried probiotics but no reduction in food sensitivity symptoms.

Another thought is that since many patients have reduced HPA output, the lack of cortisol makes us become allergic to many more things.

Hi Uni,

The b12 and folate deficiencies that are at the heart of CFS/FMS casue hypersentivity and hyper reactiveness to all sorts of things. This often goes away with CFS and FMS being cured via the active b12 protocol. http://forums.phoenixrising.me/showthread.php?11522-Active-B12-Protocol-Basics

 

[kurt]

Hi Uni,

The b12 and folate deficiencies that are at the heart of CFS/FMS casue hypersentivity and hyper reactiveness to all sorts of things. This often goes away with CFS and FMS being cured via the active b12 protocol. http://forums.phoenixrising.me/showthread.php?11522-Active-B12-Protocol-Basics

My hypersensitivity to foods decreased significantly when I started taking B12 (several forms) along with methylfolate. I'm still sensitive to carbs, but much less, can even eat some potatoes again, which I had not tolerated for over a decade. Also, I used to react dramatically to mushrooms, but now do not react at all. But this took some time, over a year on B12.

 

[Freddd]

My hypersensitivity to foods decreased significantly when I started taking B12 (several forms) along with methylfolate. I'm still sensitive to carbs, but much less, can even eat some potatoes again, which I had not tolerated for over a decade. Also, I used to react dramatically to mushrooms, but now do not react at all. But this took some time, over a year on B12.

Hi Kurt,

That took me something in excess of a year too. It's hard to say exactly when. 9 years ago there was hardly anything I could tolerate to eat. I did several ellimination diets. Nothing made any difference. More than a year after I started mb12 I did a trial elliminating milk products. WOW. What a difference. Anyway, after mb12 many vitamins and things made a difference, before nothing did.

 

[Vegas]

It seems for me the answer to this question has been to remove heavy metals. The more I chelate, the less sensitivity to foods I experience. There has been steady and consistent progress with chelation. I no longer get a cns response (brain fog), and the histamine response is greatly diminished. IBS and all other fun GI symptoms that I have had on and off to varying degrees for 15 years are completely gone. Using methylating supplements helped a bunch, as did the myriad other things I did for GI dysfunction, but removing the metals is the only therapy that has proven to be curative. I can't say I understand the exact mechanism for this, for example does it involve direct removal of metal in the gut; increases in GSH; immune modulation; improvement in liver function; restoration of mineral transport, etc., but I know it works.

 

[maryb]

Vegas I'm going to start methylation supps again once I get over this last severe allergic reaction, I feel I really need to do some chelation though as well , what kind of chelation did you use? do you have any amalgam fillings?

 

[Vegas]

Vegas I'm going to start methylation supps again once I get over this last severe allergic reaction, I feel I really need to do some chelation though as well , what kind of chelation did you use? do you have any amalgam fillings?

Amalgam Fillings: Not as of 4/14/11
Protocol: Frequent dose oral chelation, DMSA + ALA q 3hrs, around the clock, every day. It has become a part of my life, and it gets easier as the body/brain burden diminishes and the hormone and mineral transport derangement normalizes.

Notwithstanding the fact that I cannot set aside my inherent predilection for this therapy and avoid some projection of my own experiences on others, the scale and scope of the biochemical problems caused by an excessive burden of Hg are nearly endless. I would strongly urge others to challenge their assumptions about heavy metals, and re-visit this possibility, particularly if you have known toxicity and have benefited, to some degree, from methylation supplements. Frequent, low dose oral chelation is not expensive or dangerous, but it does require the removal of an acute exposure such as amalgalms, which I realize can be cost prohibitive.

 

[Waverunner]

Vegas I'm going to start methylation supps again once I get over this last severe allergic reaction, I feel I really need to do some chelation though as well , what kind of chelation did you use? do you have any amalgam fillings?

I would like to know this as well.

 

[xrunner]

I would strongly urge others to challenge their assumptions about heavy metals, and re-visit this possibility, particularly if you have known toxicity and have benefited, to some degree, from methylation supplements. Frequent, low dose oral chelation is not expensive or dangerous, but it does require the removal of an acute exposure such as amalgalms, which I realize can be cost prohibitive.

I totally agree but it's not that easy for a number of reasons which I won't mention. Unfortunately it took me a few years to revisit my assumptions...it's the nature of this b.....y illness.
I still haven't started actual chelation but felt shift every time a filling was replaced. And of course all tests previously done for Hg load were negative!

 

[Waverunner]

Hi Kurt,

That took me something in excess of a year too. It's hard to say exactly when. 9 years ago there was hardly anything I could tolerate to eat. I did several ellimination diets. Nothing made any difference. More than a year after I started mb12 I did a trial elliminating milk products. WOW. What a difference. Anyway, after mb12 many vitamins and things made a difference, before nothing did.

Freddd, do you think that the active methylation protocol also addresses chelation or would you advice trying additional things?