Reintroducing Other Foods

[horsegirl]

I have been gluten free for 2 years now, & casein/soy free for 1-1/2 years. I was diagnosed as intolerant of gluten, soy, casein, & egg through Enterolab. I reintroduced eggs about 3-4 months ago, & seem to be tolerating them well. I want to reintroduce casein yet, & am wondering if others have had success with this too? I never even knew whether I had symptoms from casein or egg; I just went off of them because Enterolab's results suggested I should. The soy I think was causing joint pain, so I'm not sure if I want to return to eating that or not.

Any suggestions? Ideas? Am I risking damage to my body, or simply a possible return of fibromyalgia symptoms if I AM intolerant for life? Where do I start?

Thanks for your help.

[horsegirl]

Anybody??

[mushroom]

I have been gluten free for 2 years now, & casein/soy free for 1-1/2 years. I was diagnosed as intolerant of gluten, soy, casein, & egg through Enterolab. I reintroduced eggs about 3-4 months ago, & seem to be tolerating them well. I want to reintroduce casein yet, & am wondering if others have had success with this too? I never even knew whether I had symptoms from casein or egg; I just went off of them because Enterolab's results suggested I should. The soy I think was causing joint pain, so I'm not sure if I want to return to eating that or not.

Any suggestions? Ideas? Am I risking damage to my body, or simply a possible return of fibromyalgia symptoms if I AM intolerant for life? Where do I start?

Thanks for your help.

I did testing through Diagnos-Techs which showed sensitivity to eggs and casein as well as the already known soy. I tried eliminating eggs and casein (I wa at that time eating only yogurt and cheese) and had never felt worse since going gluten free. I gave it a three-week trial and then went back to eggs, yogurt and cheese because I had never noticed intestinal issues with those before (I have now learned that casein may be bad for my RA, but have not given it up because any day I start without yogurt always ends up being a bad day (even if I take a probiotic supplement).

I had been lactose intolerant for years, but after 15 months gluten free I can now tolerate the milk in a couple of capucchinos without problem. Haven't tried anything else yet. I think it is pretty much an individual thing, challenge it and see what happens. I know myself that I will never be able to do soy as this has been a longstanding intolerance predating even the lactose intolerance.

So, what I am saying in a roundabout way is that since most of the lactose in yogurt and cheese (especially hard cheese) has been predigested, that would be where to start. Do it slowly and gradually and hopefully it will go okay. You will soon know what you can tolerate.

Happy eating!

[AliB]

I would second Mushroom's comment on starting slowly. The problem with a lot of foods is a lack of enzymes to digest them and many of those are produced in the gut. A damaged gut will have difficulty producing them which results in our inability to digest properly.

The thing is it is a chicken and egg situation. Is it the lack of enzymes resulting in undigested food that damages the gut, or is it certain types of food that damages the gut resulting in a loss of enzyme production?

I have to say that my preferred choice is the latter. So much of our Western diet is based around cooked food and cooking destroys the enzymes. A lot of the food is also 'dead' food - calorie-rich, but nutrient-poor and that also impacts. Add into that the pasteurisation of milk - an odd cup of cocoa now and again would undoubtedly be fine but all the milk is 'cooked' and all the beneficial enzymes in it, that would help us digest it, are destroyed. Drop the chemical additives and processing into the mix and we have a recipe for gut damage and depletion of our enzyme 'bank'.

Without enough enzymes for digestion we can't get enough nutrients, without enough nutrients the enzymes we do have can't work properly and the scene is set for disease. Without the protection of enough enzymes for repair, digestion, immune support and metabolic processes pathogens get their feet under the table.

Eggs are fine in general (real free-range are much better), but I would suggest you do some research on milk before you decide to start it again, particularly if your only source is pasteurised. Yogurt you can get away with as it is fermented and full of healthy bacteria, as long as it is live, plain and not full of sugar! You can always add fresh fruit to it.

Just bear in mind that casein along with gluten, soy and corn are all used for making glue - some of them strong enough to adhere metal to metal! Without the right enzymes the body can't break them down and it is little wonder that they 'gum up the works'!

[chatycady]

Anybody??

Have you tried the 24 hour yogurt? I would start there - slowly. Baby steps

[horsegirl]

What's that? I've never heard of it...

[AliB]

It is home-made yogurt cultured for 24 hours rather than the 6 - 8 hours that commercial yogurt is usually cultured for. The reason for the long culturing is that then most, if not all of the lactose gets pre-digested by the bacteria before you eat it, the casein structure is changed into a form that is more easily digestible, and you also get a much greater quantity of bacteria. 24 hours is the norm - it should not be left for any more than 30 hours at the most before refrigerating.

Most who are lactose/casein intolerant can cope ok with the yogurt, although some prefer to make it from goats or sheep milk or even coconut milk for a while until they are more healed, if they are really sensitive to dairy.

On the 'breaking the vicious cycle' (SCD) website is a list of 'legal' and 'illegal' foods - in other words, foods that the gut will generally cope with after a while and those it won't. In amongst the list are some cheeses - you could try one or two of those and see how you go. Although I have been on the SCD and gluten-free for nearly a year I still avoid dairy as it gives me C and I can do without that as I really don't want to go backwards now I am getting better! I am ok with the yogurt though and can also tolerate a bit of the Total brand commercial yogurt now if I am not in the mood for making the 24-hour one.

Just out of interest I use coconut milk and cream instead of dairy and find that coconut cream and some of the yogurt that has been dripped to make it thicker mixed together makes a yummy topping instead of dairy cream - it tastes not unlike creme fraiche but with a slight coconut twist. Added to Naomi Devlin's Vanilla Pumpkin Pie it is the tops. Mmm-mm.

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[chatycady]

What's that? I've never heard of it...

oops! Sorry I thought I was in the SCD board......

[horsegirl]

Thanks for all of the information. It gave me some good things to think about. It's hard because prior to the Enterolab results, I didn't have any awareness that things other than gluten & soy were bothersome to me.