Omg...i Might Be On To Something

[christine 25]

I think I may have figured it out!

Ive been reading Everything that Rachel is saying about foods high in MSG, and Ive been researching about food high in glutamate,

and it says that they are foods high in protein.

Dairy, eggs, nuts, seeds, chicken, beans, cheese, all high protein foods.

So I thought hmmm,,, maybe its when my body gets too overloaded with protein of any kind, I react to things!

So I'm looking around and I start finding articles saying that high protein diets are bad for people with autoimmune diseases becuase they cause immunglobulins to bind to antigens and make antibodies.

Proteins themselves are involved with the process of makeing and creating antibodies, good and bad ones. In my case bad ones!

I am going to try to go on a low protein higher carbohydrate diet and see if that helps with my symptoms at all.

cause for me the worst offenders seem to be the high protein foods, the MSG which contains the toxic amino acid sequences, and so does the gluten, and on a gluten free diet ive been eating more animal protein in place of the gluten, cause theres not much else.

I think going gluten free has helped, but going low protein will help even more,,, im just concerned about having energy, hopefully thats not an issue, and its going to be very strict....

Now if I can just figure out what to eat,,, lol

I need your help and encouragement guys, your support has been great.

Christina

[Rachel--24]

I'm going to shoot for at least 6 months really clean too, before I even consider adding something new. I've definitely been doing the one-two step too I had a major reaction that I'm thinking may be due in part to orange juice too. I wonder if that's anything to do with MSG? I can't imagine that it is, and yet, I almost hope so because it would be so nice to be able to pinpoint the "why."

There was alot about orange juice that I read on the corn forum and I think on the msg board too. What kind was it? If it has added vitamins which most do then I think its bad. Anything fortified or vitamin enriched is bad on both diets. I think I remember reading that "simply orange juice" was ok and didnt have anything added. Thats my dept. at work so I'll check on the labels today and get back to you on that.

[jerseyangel]

There was alot about orange juice that I read on the corn forum and I think on the msg board too. What kind was it? If it has added vitamins which most do then I think its bad. Anything fortified or vitamin enriched is bad on both diets. I think I remember reading that "simply orange juice" was ok and didnt have anything added. Thats my dept. at work so I'll check on the labels today and get back to you on that.

Rachel--I drank Minute Maid Original--possibly for me it was the acid, but I used to drink oj every day of my life. About 2-3 months ago, I thought maybe it was too acid, so I switched to Motts Apple Juice--then when I had some oj again recently, like I said, I could literally feel it burning for a while after.

[miamia]

I think I may have figured it out!

Ive been reading Everything that Rachel is saying about foods high in MSG, and Ive been researching about food high in glutamate,

and it says that they are foods high in protein.

Dairy, eggs, nuts, seeds, chicken, beans, cheese, all high protein foods.

So I thought hmmm,,, maybe its when my body gets too overloaded with protein of any kind, I react to things!

So I'm looking around and I start finding articles saying that high protein diets are bad for people with autoimmune diseases becuase they cause immunglobulins to bind to antigens and make antibodies.

Proteins themselves are involved with the process of makeing and creating antibodies, good and bad ones. In my case bad ones!

I am going to try to go on a low protein higher carbohydrate diet and see if that helps with my symptoms at all.

This is all so interesting- I have been unab;e to tolerate most meats at all. I bouhgt these burgers- The only ingredients was organic turkey- and I could not breathe at all after eating part of one. I thought I was insane. I bought chicken and just grilled it plain - and had the same reaction. I definitly have a problem with protein rich foods right now. I don't know if its the glut. issue or my body just is to weak to break down the proteins.

I can't do brown rice- hard to digest but I seem to be alright with white rice and millet. Millet is definitly a staple of mine and it is really versitile so I like that because I love to cook. Although my ingredients lists seem to be getting more and more limited

Miamia

cause for me the worst offenders seem to be the high protein foods, the MSG which contains the toxic amino acid sequences, and so does the gluten, and on a gluten free diet ive been eating more animal protein in place of the gluten, cause theres not much else.

I think going gluten free has helped, but going low protein will help even more,,, im just concerned about having energy, hopefully thats not an issue, and its going to be very strict....

Now if I can just figure out what to eat,,, lol

I need your help and encouragement guys, your support has been great.

Christina

This is all so interesting- I have been unab;e to tolerate most meats at all. I bouhgt these burgers- The only ingredients was organic turkey- and I could not breathe at all after eating part of one. I thought I was insane. I bought chicken and just grilled it plain - and had the same reaction. I definitly have a problem with protein rich foods right now. I don't know if its the glut. issue or my body just is to weak to break down the proteins.

I can't do brown rice- hard to digest but I seem to be alright with white rice and millet. Millet is definitly a staple of mine and it is really versitile so I like that because I love to cook. Although my ingredients lists seem to be getting more and more limited

Miamia

[Rachel--24]

Rachel--I drank Minute Maid Original--possibly for me it was the acid, but I used to drink oj every day of my life. About 2-3 months ago, I thought maybe it was too acid, so I switched to Motts Apple Juice--then when I had some oj again recently, like I said, I could literally feel it burning for a while after.

Jersey,

I miss OJ....I havent had it in over a year. I havent had *any* juice in that long.

I just made buckwheat pancakes for lunch....they were REALLY good....I think I like buckwheat.

Also no white tongue or bumps....hopefully thats a good sign. I dont know alot about buckwheat but I know its not a grain so we'll see.

[dlp252]

I like buckwheat too. I also miss orange juice. I can drink other juices, but for some reason the last few times I've tried orange juice it hasn't sat well with me. One time I could feel it as soon as I drank it that it was going to cause problems...mostly though I get an upset stomach, not really a specific reaction.

I've been reading some of the Battling the MSG Myth website. I think I may try the diet they suggest. I really do best if I have something structured, lol. Once I get established on a particular way of eating, I can then wing it a bit.

[Calicat]

There was alot about orange juice that I read on the corn forum and I think on the msg board too. What kind was it? If it has added vitamins which most do then I think its bad. Anything fortified or vitamin enriched is bad on both diets. I think I remember reading that "simply orange juice" was ok and didnt have anything added. Thats my dept. at work so I'll check on the labels today and get back to you on that.

Rachel,

Tropicana Pure Premium Original, pasteurized (but not "ultra-pateurized" which is on the MSG list) and "no preservatives added." The thing is, I didn't actually drink it, I used it for baking, b/c it reacts with baking soda to give more body to the batter and also adds great flavor instead of using one of the possibly dangerous extracts. so i didn't use nearly as much, but it's possible that it was a combination of the baking --at this point, I think all grains including rice are out for me for at least 6 months -- and the oj.

You said before that you think the cleaner our bodies get, the more intense our reactions will be? I think that's what's happening to me. And I'm kind of hoping you'll have some insight into my reaction...(you're my msg guru )

Last night was insane. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I drank literally over a gallon of water throughout the day and night and I was still so thirsty that I felt like i hadn't had a sip of liquid in weeks. My veins got really puffy and so did my hands and feet (although not my face, yay!!) and I got so hot that I couldn't even feel the cold from an ice pack on my neck. My face was really flushed, my heart was racing and it was really hard to catch my breath. I got so shaky and weak that I could barely walk from one room to another, and just thinking about picking up a drinking glass felt as impossible as climbing Mt. Everest. I was extremely sensitive to light and sound too, and I felt like I was going to pass out.

I'm still having a rough time today, but compared to last night, I feel great

Do you know if this is consistent with MSG? It was sooo intense, and really very scary, but i think the fact that I had/have such a terrible reaction right now is actually a good sign

[jerseyangel]

Hi Calicat--Just an additional thought--have you ever been tested for allergies? I was wondering because your symptoms are so intense. Of course, it could be related to MSG or other foods or additives, but just to rule out an allergic reaction. I did this in February--I was scared to death of an allergic reaction (my husband is allergic to bee stings, and the last time he was stung, he almost didn't make it). The tests put my mind at ease about that, and then I could re-focus on the intolerances. The physical reactions you describe must be so frightening! I hope you can sort through them and figure out a pattern Also, on a side note, Tropicana does not produce all of their Pure Premium at a gluten-free facility--some of their factories are shared. I stopped using it last year when I found out about that.

[Green12]

Julie--I had to chuckle--puffy ass! You poor thing--you're going to figure it all out. I've spent the last 6 months or so taking one step forward and two back. It's a slow process, trying to determine what to eat--and what not to. I'm thinking that this plan of basic, plain food is the way to go. I tried orange juice earlier in the week, and actually felt my intestines burning for a few hours afterwards. A mistake that I keep making is trying to move on to other foods too quickly. I'm thinking at least 6 months of being super careful.

jersey, you are so right on this one. That is exactly my situation through all of this, one step forward and two steps back. I really do remain positive overall and keep plugging away, but this process is not without frustrations of course, and set backs. But that is life, right?!?!

My problem is I have so much ingrained in my head from all of the healthcare professionals I have ever seen, and books that I have read, on what to/not to eat and what to/not to do. I am trying so hard to let all that go and start with a clean slate. I have cleared out so much of my diet already that it is pretty much down to very few things, and then I get new information and there is a whole new list of restrictions that takes out even more things. I think about the allergy tests I have the results for and the different safe/unsafe lists (gluten, corn, msg) and I juggle all of that in my mind. At this point I am overwhelmed about deciding what to eat that I just concentrate on the gluten free for now and eat whatever, but so far it's getting me in trouble.

Something I ate yesterday kicked my butt (my puffy butt at that last night and today. This is not my typical diet but I am testing some stuff out. I had:

Watermelon and Enjoy Life Foods Cinnamon Crunch Granola (Brown Rice Flakes, Water, Rice Bran, Brown Sugar, Raisins, Ground Flaxseed, Coconut, Cinnamon, Gum Arabic, Vanilla, Rosemary Extract) with Milk (nothing added, non-enriched) and half of a banana.

A salad with olive oil for dressing, and cheddar crackers (sharp cheddar cheese, pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes, annatto, white rice flour, whole egg, potato starch, water, butter, sea salt, xanthan gum), and a couple Pamela's Peanut Butter Cookies ( Peanut Butter (Peanuts and Salt); Molasses, Eggs, Rice Syrup and Grape Juice; Flour Base (Brown Rice Flour, White Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, Sweet Rice Flour, Xanthan Gum); Dry Roasted Peanut Pieces, Gluten-free Natural Flavor; Baking Soda; Sea Salt.).

Brisket and cheese fries made with Alexia Yukon Gold Julienne Fries with Sea Salt (organic yukon gold potatoes, organic sunflower oil, sea salt, citric acid) and melted mild colby/jack cheese, and a few asparagus.

I started to get symptoms immediately after the cereal. Throughout the rest of the day my tongue got heavy and thick and my throat swelled a little bit and I got the sores in the mouth, I was burning up hot, my stomach bloated, my nose got stuffy, my whole body/limbs felt heavy, and I could feel the blood flow heavy and it was numbing (if that makes sense? probably not) my heart raced and the overall body swelling/edema was very very significant. Then through the night I had major sweating, my skin was burning and my feet were on fire, I had hives all over me, and my sleep was restless. I felt like my nervous system was affected or stimulated in some way. I had disturbing dreams, I would fall asleep and then my body would be startled awake, my system was just very unsettled.

Before, pretty much for the last 7 years, I just assumed this was blood sugar reactions. Now I am not so sure. After I learn more and more about corn/MSG I am having to rethink and re-analyze everything. It really does make sense that this is more of a chemical reaction.

I'm still not sure on where gluten falls in with all of this for me. I felt sicker after what I ate yesterday than the 6 days combined of eating gluten. I definitely can not eat just a normal gluten-free diet, I would be bed ridden if I continued to eat all of these products.

[jerseyangel]

My problem is I have so much ingrained in my head from all of the healthcare professionals I have ever seen, and books that I have read, on what to/not to eat and what to/not to do. I am trying so hard to let all that go and start with a clean slate. I have cleared out so much of my diet already that it is pretty much down to very few things, and then I get new information and there is a whole new list of restrictions that takes out even more things. I think about the allergy tests I have the results for and the different safe/unsafe lists (gluten, corn, msg) and I juggle all of that in my mind. At this point I am overwhelmed about deciding what to eat that I just concentrate on the gluten free for now and eat whatever, but so far it's getting me in trouble.

Me too, Julie--exactly! What do they say about a "little knowledge being a dangerous thing"?! But I do know what you mean. Also, I think that there are those of us that for some reason, maybe damage from gluten or some other unknown reason, really can't just take the gluten out of our diets. If I continued to do that, I would be sicker than I was before! It has to be a combination of the 2 for me--and it looks like for you, too. Right now, I'm eating absolutely no packaged food (except chips--potato, oil and salt only) and am feeling pretty good. I'm sure that you've tried that, too. Boring, but effective!

Sounds like you'll be back to being an ingredient detective--those symptoms you had sound terrible! One thing I found was that things that I tended to eat every day were culprits a lot of the time. It is amazing what happened when I cut rice, and then grains out. Night and day.

[AndreaB]

Yeah pretty much all ice-cream has MSG in it. Its never labeled as MSG though. Where do you find ice cream with only those ingedients. I bought Breyers "all natural" and it has milk, cream, sugar, natural flavors. Natural flavors = MSG.....theres really nothing natural about it. Lots of stuff says "all natural" on it but its just to fool us....its not really natural. I always believed it meant what it said but they can put whatever they want on their package. Its how they sell stuff. Someone can also say that cocaine is natural cuz it came fom a coca leaf but would you wanna put that into your body??

I think I was very naive all my life.

I think I've seen this. Is it that stuff that comes in a round container?

I wonder if its safe? Heres a link to the product I'm thinking about.

Open Original Shared Link

Rachel,

Sorry. I forgot that I had posted on this board and didn't click to notify. The ener-g I have looks like the picture but I think it's different. The ingredients on the baking powder are calcium carbonate and citric acid. Didn't you say citric acid was out or was that a different post? I believe the baking soda they sell is just calcium carbonate. I'm still way behind on this board but will catch up (page 10 I think).

Hidden MSG is another interesting thing. We bought Dr Russell Blaylock's book "excitotoxins" which has a small list of msg ingredients. My family has been pretty careful to avoid as much as possible. Your list included things I wasn't aware of. Did you post a link to that? With the rice milk...I am trying to switch to pacific brands which contains carageenan because of the barley enzyme in rice dream. Maybe I won't worry about it. My son doesn't seem to care about that...he is pretty sensitive to what I eat though. I enjoy reading all of the posts and learning new things.

[Rachel--24]

Something I ate yesterday kicked my butt (my puffy butt at that last night and today. This is not my typical diet but I am testing some stuff out. I had:

Julie,

Those foods would have kicked my butt too!

I know about the Enjoy Life Cereal because I've had it before....also Pamelas cookies. I cant eat those. I would probably do even worse with the crackers and cheese fries from looking at the ingredients. If I ate ONE of those things yesterday I'd be so messed up right now. I dont even wanna know what would happen to me if I ate all of them. I dont think I would have made it to work today. Reactions hit me alot harder now because I dont really eat the processed stuff anymore...so if I do its very noticeable. Today I'm paying for my little "experiments" but its nothing too terrible. I do have a puffy face though. At least you get a puffy butt.

When I eat alot of bad things and mess myself up I actually totally lose my butt...it can happen in like a day or two. When I was really sick my butt was pretty much wasted away....but I always had that big puffy head. Nice.

I know what you mean about all the different diets being overwhelming. I started with just gluten and kept taking out more and more because the symptoms were still there. I guess you have to go down to the basics to really figure out what causes problems though. For awhile I was confusing myself by deciding it wasnt dairy or soy or salicylates and adding them back in and then just getting frusterated with all the different "lists" of things to avoid.

I think the hardest part is starting out on a really limited diet...the commitment part of it is the worst....I find that once I "establish" something and stay on it for about a week or so it gets alot easier. I think because the cravings lessen. Its just getting ON the diet thats the biggest hurdle....staying on it isnt as hard for me.

I cant believe how similar all of our symptoms are...what you described is so much like what I experience...even the bad dreams. Before I restricted my diet I had a nightmare almost every night. I hated to go to sleep and I hated to wake up...I felt really anxious all the time. I thought the nightmares were related to stress....stress from being sick, going through a break-up, being on disability, etc.. When my doctor put me on the elimination diet the nightmares stopped immediately....I dont get them at all since then unless I were to have a severe reaction. Reading your post really brings it all back....I dont think anyone could understand what its like unless they've experienced it. I'm sorry you're going through all that right now.

[AndreaB]

Anyone know anything or heard anything about L-cysteine?

Rachel,

I don't know anything specific about l-cysteine. From Dr. Blaylock's book "excitotoxins" it is listed as one of the baddies that can promote neurodegenerative diseases (along with aspartame and msg).

The following is listed in the book which was published in the mid-late 90's I think. I don't have it in front of me right now.

Hidden Sources of MSG

As discussed previously, the glutamate manufacturers and the processed food industries are always on a quest to disguise MGS added to food. Below is a partial list of the most common names for disguised MSG. Remember also that the powerful excitotoxins aspartate and L-Cysteine are frequently added to foods according to FDA rules require no labeling at all.

Additives that always contain MSG:

Monosodium Glutamate

Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein

Hydrolyzed Protein

Hydrolyzed Plant Protein

Plant Protein Extract

Sodium Caseinate

Calcium Caseinate

Yeast Extract

Textured Protein

Autolyzed Yeast

Hydrolyzed Oat Flour

Additives that frequently contain MSG:

Malt Extract

Malt Flavoring

Bouillon

Broth

Stock

Flavorings

Natural Flavorings

Natural Beef or Chicken Flavoring

Seasonings

Spices

Additives that may contain MSG:

Carrageenan

Enzymes

Soy Protein Concentrate

Soy Protein Isolate

Whey Protein Concentrate

My mom isn't too sensitive to follow our desires in diet. She brought the kids over yogurt a couple days again and it had whey protein concentrate in it. Her attitude is that is hasn't hurt her so whats the big deal (with anything). We are pretty picky about what we eat and now that we are eating meat again only buy the organic or free range stuff which is more expensive. I'm curious about this "caveman" diet. I have learned that meat is bad and had gone on a vegan diet. Since just before my allergy test I learned that soy is bad and now I'm learning that wheat is bad. Oh, by the way dairy is also supposed to be bad. OK, so if everything is bad then what is a person supposed to eat. My friend and I have determined that if we didn't eat anything that was bad (for whatever reason), there would be nothing left to eat. I don't think we have an msg allergy (not that we won't get one), but we don't like what it can do to the brain. My husband's father died of Lou Gehrigs Disease which has been linked to MSG. He used to work for Chef Boy R De sp? which is listed in the book excitoxins as being a product that contains msg. The book also lists spaghetti sauces, campbells soup and I forget what else. I'll have to find the book. I believe it is in my room and I'm not about to go searching around and wake up the baby (he's in my room).

Ok, off to catching up again.

[Rachel--24]

One more thing I wanted to share with everyone, you might know this already but I didn't. I called a rice company to find out about white rice. It says it's enriched and that's all so I thought it was okay. Well after getting a lesson from the company a lot of things made sense to me. Rice is havested, the first layer is non-eatable and is removed. This then becomes brown rice loaded with all good natural vitamins and nutrients. To make white rice they then take the brown rice and peal off the brown layer (with all the good natural stuff) and it becomes softer but has no nutritional value so they ADD the vitamins with some kind of corn starch so it sticks to the rice.... SO... NO white rice for me!

Floridian thanks for that explanation!! Thats so awesome.

I knew about the white rice being enriched (there are some that arent though) and dusted with cornstarch but I didnt know how the whole process worked. I love to know the "hows and whys" of everything...Its just in me to want to know all this stuff. Now I learned something new!

I dont eat the white rice anymore but its only been a couple weeks since I learned about it. No wonder I always got extra puffy after white rice.

Thanks again.

[AndreaB]

Allllso, I agree 100% that supplements DO NOTHING, and if they do, they make things worse.

How do you get all your calcium if not taking a supplement for it? Calcium has to be mixed with magnesium to keep the proper balance. I dairy allergic so can't do that. Besides meat and dairy actually make your body acidic (I think it was both, definately dairy) which increases your need for calcium. I'm breastfeeding and taking 1000 mg of calcium in supplement. If I wasn't I wouldn't be concerned. I also take a prenatal vitamin made by Freeda.

Typically I am against supplements (aside from a multi) and medicine unless they are absolutely necessary.

[Rachel--24]

OK, so if everything is bad then what is a person supposed to eat. My friend and I have determined that if we didn't eat anything that was bad (for whatever reason), there would be nothing left to eat.

No kidding! Thats why I'm just gonna pay attention to my body and only worry about the things that are obviously bad for ME...I cant be worrying about the other stuff or I'll starve to death.

Before this "lesson in life" occurred I would drink a soda or 2 before I even got to work in the morning. I ate junk for breakfast lunch and dinner. Smoked about a pack of cigs a day. The only thing I knew how to cook was mac & cheese and I had never read an ingredient label in my life.

And now look.

I spend about an hour in the grocery store reading labels and I make everything from scratch and I eat all organic stuff! 3 years ago I would have called myself a freak.

I'm definately paying for my ignorance and non-chalaunt (sp?) attitude regarding what I put into my body everyday.

Anyone know how to spell non-chalaunt the correct way?

[Rachel--24]

You said before that you think the cleaner our bodies get, the more intense our reactions will be? I think that's what's happening to me. And I'm kind of hoping you'll have some insight into my reaction...(you're my msg guru )

Calicat,

Sorry you and Julie both had rough nights.

I'm not much of a guru cuz I cant really say what happened to cause the reaction.

I would still suspect the OJ though. I'd have to do more research on OJ and the corn/msg diet to know. I havent looked into that stuff yet since I dont drink juice right now anyways.

One thing I do know for sure is that when I reach a "heightened state" (which is most of the past 3 years) and I'm reacting to everything like perfumes and all that stuff I also react to some foods which probably wouldnt bother me normally. I think alot of times when my veins swell its a histamine reaction. Some foods that are high in histamine like eggs and fish will cause a reaction if I'm already not feeling well....other times they dont bother me. I think oranges also might be high in histamine. I havent eaten any oranges in a long time but other citrus foods have caused a smiliar reaction....they cause headaches in me too. For some reason I dont really get this with chocolate even though its also a histamine releasing food that can cause migraines.

The other day after eating all those bowls of quinoa and getting myself sick I had some Halibut and got the vein swelling histamine reaction. I always eat halibut and most of the time it doesnt affect me. I think one of the hardest things for me has been deciphering what the real "culprits" are and seperating those from the "secondary" reactions. I believe the reaction I got from the fish was secondary and so I dont get concerned about it. I think that could be the case for you with the OJ too. I used to think I was becoming allergic to everything but now I believe there is one primary reason for all of this. My doctor always told me in situations like this where there is such a heightened sensitivity....there is something that is the main "stressor" pulling the immune system down and causing increased sensitivity. It makes sense to me since the other sensitivities do lessen when I feel better.

Do you ever get immflamation across your upper chest all the way to your underarms? I get alot of soreness there....especially close to my armpits...is that where the glands are? Thats what I have today from my experiments...I also have a sore throat and some shortness of breath. I lost a couple pounds too. Bummer. I never could really understand that part....I dont know how I lose weight whenever I have a reaction since I dont have major "d" or anything. I can even be totally constiapted and still lose the weight....where the heck does it go?

[AndreaB]

Ok, granted I'm only on page 15...and this may have been covered.

With alot of vitamins just below the skin how do you deal with the vitamin loss if you have to peel everything?

[Rachel--24]

Ok, granted I'm only on page 15...and this may have been covered.

With alot of vitamins just below the skin how do you deal with the vitamin loss if you have to peel everything?

LOL...I dont know about anyone else but on page 26 I said that I'm only concerned about the stuff thats causing me physical harm right now so I'll worry about the rest of the stuff like vitamins or whatever when I'm not in pain anymore.

[dlp252]

Good questions Andrea...wish I knew the answer. I've been peeling my apples and pears, which is really about the only fruit I've been eating where the skins could be eaten anyway. I did eat the skin of my apple today and this afternoon I'm having some major tummy problems.

I get the soreness across my chest, but never connected it with anything.

So, from everything I'm reading on this thread and on the various websites/diets....it really just comes down to a very basic, unprocessed diet. The basic unprocessed diet will be slightly different for everyone.

Julie, I'm with you...my head is spinning with all the diet stuff I've been reading about lately. First it was gluten free, then added casein free, then it was SCD, then corn (although not really seriously) and now MSG and blood sugar. After reading through the allowed foods on the Battling the MSG Myth website, I think their basic "test" diet would probably work really well for me in all respects...I think the MSG thing would automatically take care of the corn thing. So, tomorrow I'm making a list and Saturday morning I'm buying all the stuff I'll need.

My biggest challenge is always actually DOING or STARTING the stuff...once I start I can usually stick with it, except for the SCD for some reason...I think maybe it was a mistake to try that strict of a diet while going through the pre-cancer thing.

Oh, a note on that. I finally called my doctor and asked if the results were in. Apparently they got them yesterday morning...anyway, Stanford is fairly certain the cells are not pre-cancer. My doctor didn't sound reassured and feels we should continue to monitor it, so we'll go ahead with the plan to do another endoscopy in July or August and take another biopsy. He wants me to continue to take an acid blocker, but is switching me to Zantac because I've been having stomach pain, which he said could be caused by the Prilosec...Zantac is apparently not as strong. So I think I can relax a bit and hopefully that will translate into being a bit more dedicated to my eating.

[Green12]

Girls, oh my nelly! I am so far behind, like 4 or 5 pages now

Also when things get complicated I really pray and ask for some guidance (which I've never done in my life) and I swear....everytime I've reached a low point something happens to lead me more into the right direction. Its really been an amazing journey.

Rachel, this rings so true for me too. Not the praying, because I am not really a follower of any specific religion, but when I am in a tough place I will get a sign, from the universe I believe, sending me in the direction that leads me to the next step in my journey. That's how I found this board, this thread, you guys. It really is amazing how that all works.

Even though I have had some awful experiences with the health field (main stream and alternative) and terrible guidance, I don't regret anything. I truly believe I had to go through all of that in order to get where I am now.

[dlp252]

Even though I have had some awful experiences with the health field (main stream and alternative) and terrible guidance, I don't regret anything. I truly believe I had to go through all of that in order to get where I am now.

This is so true...I've often said that about many things in life. It's hard to go through at the time, but in the end I've become a better more understanding person.

[Green12]

I've been reading some of the Battling the MSG Myth website. I think I may try the diet they suggest. I really do best if I have something structured, lol. Once I get established on a particular way of eating, I can then wing it a bit.

dlp,

You and I sound similar. I need structure too. I'm very good at following an eating plan, that isn't the hard part for me. But I need to have it all spelled out. If it isn't spelled out for me then I crumble Also I have a hard time deciding what to do. But once I sort everything out and make a plan and get started, I stick with it.

That's great you got good news from the doctor about your initial tests!!! Here's hoping for good news on your follow up

I had a little misunderstanding about the book, I thought my mom was ordering it for me, she thought I was- so it's not on its way like I assumed. I went to amazon .com to see if they had it and I found the following review:

The smallest part of the book is the info section, the largest is the cookbook section.

If you are looking for in-depth MSG info, this is NOT the book to buy. Dr Blaylock's book "excitotoxins, the taste that kills" is THE BOOK to buy; this book is a grade school child's essay of Dr Blaylocks book, which clearly states that MSG will not harm you *unless* you are vitamin/mineral (nutrient) deficient. In other words, MSG affects people based on how nutrient rich/poor their diet is. (There are other factors - like age and general health, but nutrient deficiency is the *MAIN* culprit).

After numerous trips to the MSG website that supports this book, and after reading and re-reading all the material that I have on MSG, I do think MSG is a big problem simply because the average diet is deficient of basic nutrients, which opens the doorway for ALL TOXINS, not just MSG, but all toxins to enter the brain.

The MSG Myth book & the website that supports it are like the sideshow at the circus. You really don't *need* to see the sideshow, unless you have nothing better to do with your time & money.

Once you discover what vitamins/minerals are needed to block MSG (and ensure health) and other such exitotoxins from the brain, it becomes simple to either buy supplements *OR* drink OJ, eat a few almonds & baby carrots/red peppers sticks, etc... every day. This MSG Myth book is just a diversion from the The Real Info. The real info is SIMPLE & HELPFUL, this book is a diversion in a diversion in a diversion.

If you are not willing to give up all processed foods, junk foods, pizza, chinese food, and make your own bread, pancake syrup, ketchup, etc... *until the day you die*, don't bother with this book. If you want to be free of toxins and still be able to eat some goodies, read & study Dr. Blaylock's book.

What do you guys think? Does Dr. Blaylock's book sound like a better purchase??

Rachel,

Tropicana Pure Premium Original, pasteurized (but not "ultra-pateurized" which is on the MSG list) and "no preservatives added." The thing is, I didn't actually drink it, I used it for baking, b/c it reacts with baking soda to give more body to the batter and also adds great flavor instead of using one of the possibly dangerous extracts. so i didn't use nearly as much, but it's possible that it was a combination of the baking --at this point, I think all grains including rice are out for me for at least 6 months -- and the oj.

You said before that you think the cleaner our bodies get, the more intense our reactions will be? I think that's what's happening to me. And I'm kind of hoping you'll have some insight into my reaction...(you're my msg guru )

Last night was insane. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I drank literally over a gallon of water throughout the day and night and I was still so thirsty that I felt like i hadn't had a sip of liquid in weeks. My veins got really puffy and so did my hands and feet (although not my face, yay!!) and I got so hot that I couldn't even feel the cold from an ice pack on my neck. My face was really flushed, my heart was racing and it was really hard to catch my breath. I got so shaky and weak that I could barely walk from one room to another, and just thinking about picking up a drinking glass felt as impossible as climbing Mt. Everest. I was extremely sensitive to light and sound too, and I felt like I was going to pass out.

I'm still having a rough time today, but compared to last night, I feel great

Do you know if this is consistent with MSG? It was sooo intense, and really very scary, but i think the fact that I had/have such a terrible reaction right now is actually a good sign

Calicat, kitty cat, bless your heart! Sorry you had a bad reaction. I would say you should probably eliminate the orange juice for now just to be safe and maybe test it out again down the road. Hope you are feeling much better

thank you guy so much for your support. Its carzy I am not someone who won't stand up for herself but Its just so shocking that you kind of don't have time to react.

Ok the tongue rash thing- what is this like for you. I find when I eat something that bothers me my mouth feels cut up- the sides of my mouth and the roof as well. I actually have cuts on the roof of my mouth. Soes this sound at all like something anyone has experienced?

Miamia

That is exactly what happens to me miamia, the sides and roof of my mouth feels like it has been cut up and ripped apart to shreds like you describe. I will also have sores all over my tongue that get really sensitive if I bump them against my teeth.

[Green12]

So I thought hmmm,,, maybe its when my body gets too overloaded with protein of any kind, I react to things!

So I'm looking around and I start finding articles saying that high protein diets are bad for people with autoimmune diseases becuase they cause immunglobulins to bind to antigens and make antibodies.

Proteins themselves are involved with the process of makeing and creating antibodies, good and bad ones. In my case bad ones!

I am going to try to go on a low protein higher carbohydrate diet and see if that helps with my symptoms at all.

cause for me the worst offenders seem to be the high protein foods, the MSG which contains the toxic amino acid sequences, and so does the gluten, and on a gluten free diet ive been eating more animal protein in place of the gluten, cause theres not much else.

I think going gluten free has helped, but going low protein will help even more,,, im just concerned about having energy, hopefully thats not an issue, and its going to be very strict....

Now if I can just figure out what to eat,,, lol

I need your help and encouragement guys, your support has been great.

Christina

Christina,

This is interesting. I was always told by my naturopath that in times of illness, auto-immunity and etc, that our bodies need, more than ever, protein to heal. It also has some kind of anti-inflamatory effect in the body, it's been so long that I can't remember the specifics.

This is just another example of finding totally opposite sides to an issue, and both make sense.

So what to do, what to do?

[Green12]

A lot of members are so good at researching everything, I've learned much from them! I'm new at this too and am just taking one day at a time. Tonight I'm miserable again, thinking it was the gluten free flour I used today (my suspicion is the tapioca starch). I'm going to a clean meal, no packaged or canned or processed anything. I'm going tomorrow to get organic milk, eggs and I'll just have to cook everything myself and from scratch so I really know what's in it! This whole thing is so hard for me too, but being part of this community has really helped!

Hello brendygirl, welcome to the board!

Floridian, you are doing really well! Starting any new kind of eating plan is difficult. So congratulations for hanging in there and for diving into all of this head first!

How are you feeling? Have you noticed any changes??