BRUMI1968

Interesting comments about the food combining. However, I would say about paleolithic person and their food combining, that they had no heavy starches to combine with anything, so starch/protein would never have been an issue. I don't know how often they would eat dried fruit/nuts...that is one that seems to get me in a tissy.

I read today an article about orthorexia - an obsession with eating healthily. It was interesting. In ways, I could see that I have what some folks might call obsessions. And I accept that it can get out of hand if people become rigid and holier-than-thou. It talked about how people with orthorexia spend an inordinate time thinking about eating. Now this I found silly. What else would a bunch of primates be thinking about? Well, there's running away from tigers I suppose, or not falling out of the trees of the jungle or falling off the cliffs on the savanna. There's passing on our genes. If my thinking about eating instead of Britney Spears or shopping at Target means I've got orthorexia, well I wish more people had it!

Lastly, I think all of us who have identified gluten as inedible to us have a responsibility to our bodies to try to maximize our health. We've been given this opportunity that lots of folks don't get. (My partner can eat whatever he wants, so really pays very little attention to what he puts into his body.) As for me, 39 years old and having grown up in the heyday of margarine and skim milk, cheese slices that had virtually no cheese, sundays made from wood pulp, and cheap meat two meals out of three every day, I have some make-up time. We owe it to ourselves to make sure we're not eating frankenfoods, at the very least (homogenized milk, gmo products, fat-free things, coolwhip). If we want to go even further, and many of us feel its necessary since we've got damaged bodies from years of Celiac, we can look for really good for you foods that seem to make us feel better. Case in point: amaranth. Amaranth has changed my days, I'm here to tell you. I have more energy than ever before (and lest you go thinking it is because the sun has finally come out, let me assure you that I live in the Pacific Northwest where the sun appears to be on permanent strike.) I have quit all grains, which could explain a lot, but adding amaranth seems to have given me the protein boost I needed, and fiber.

Anyway, I've doubtlessly rambled. To the poster who says GLUTEN is the culprit, I suggest that when 10,000 years ago we stopped chasing our food (for about 3 hours a day by the way) and settled down to start growing it (about 10 hours a day), our troubles began. Not just gluten - but grains and dairy and beans.

Okay. I'm off to go chase down a gazelle and get some vittles. Where'd I set my spear? Goodnight all!

I have read that you might want to check your stomach acid levels. You can't digest iron or B12 w/o good amounts of stomach acid. Many many people are low on it, especially those over 50. Just a thought. Good luck.

p.s. if you have heartburn, it does not mean you have high stomach acid; it means, in most cases anyway, that the sphincter that blocks your esophagus from your tummy has lazy moments.

However, the lesson I've learned (the hard way) is that once you DO become ill alot of these "rules" for healthy eating go out the window. At that point its best to listen to your body....there are soooo many variations of what the "ideal" diet should be...the truth is that its different for everyone. We are not all alike.

YES! And this is another frustrating part of the equasion. My partner is always telling me how great raw cheese is for you. Sure, for you maybe? If I eat, I don't poop for a week and when I do, I get wounded. Or garlic - "garlic is good for you". Really, it makes my mother throw up; it makes me bloat out.

So this is definitely part of it - no ONE thing is going to be good for ALL people. And it would probably be sad in a way if it were - we would probably all be eating capsules of the one true food to get our nutritition.

Listening to the body is not something a lot of people do. Some people think that I'm obsessive - I notice when my fingernails get weak, I acknowledge weird tastes in my mouth or how food isn't tasting right to me. Or the way I don't think it's right to have any pain or discomfort (it seems many folks think it's normal). I'm not obsessive. I'm aware. And I have to be.

Another facet of growing up with active Celiac Disease, is that I felt awful much of the time, but was also powerless to do anything about it. (Powerless in lack of knowledge, but also in lack of sovereignty since I was a child.) So since I couldn't control my digestive issues, I clung to other sources of comfort. Other kids played in cold and dirt and did challenging things - I focused on staying warm and dry and out of danger. Now that I'm getting better, I realize how much this set me up for my future. Now I am trying to step out of my comfort zone. The more well I get in the guts, the more guts I get to do stuff that might hurt or might make me cold for a while, etc. It's just really interesting how this disease can affect the WAY we live our lives outside of food - and that we are challenged as we get better to try to live more fully, if that is what we want to do.

A bit off the subject, but connected still. It is profound what we are going through/have gone through (in my case) all our lives. As we find health, we find new challenges, not to mention how hard finding that elusive health can be.

I reread my own post and it sounds more irritated than I meant for it to. I've actually been feeling great, so I have little to complain about. Sorry, all.

Combine avocados with other fatty nuts. NEVER combine avocados with other fatty nuts. Eat 20% protein every day, but you need to eat animals. Animals kill you and virtually all foods have at least 20% protein. WHAT? How on earth should we know who to listen to? Even folks we trust make mistakes and change their minds - lots of folks have flipflopped on soy - not good for you they say. Fat not good for you? Yes it is, it turns out. Wine is good for you. Wine causes cancer. Coconut oil is terrible for you - ooops, turns out it's great. Coffee. Chocolate. Green Tea. Margarine. Homogenization. Arg!

New plan - I am going to listen to health advice that was around before food became ultra commodified and commercialized - back when people used common sense and anecdotal evidence to guide their health decisions. My grandma ate a spoonful of horseradish every day. She's still kicking around. She buried her veggie wastes in the raspberry garden and swore by garlic and onions. She used butter (I would not have heard of butter were it not for old granny). She spent the daylight hours in the sun working around the house and gardens. She fed squirrels. Now she's in the old-folks home eating margarine and instant mashed potatoes. That must be hell for her...hell on wheels.

Milk does not do a body good. Beef is not what is for dinner. Pork is not the other white meat. Whatever is good for us today probably isn't tomorrow. Did people in the ancient world eat it and prosper (quinoa, amaranth, goji berries, etc.), then sounds good to me. Was it invented in a laboratory? Not great. Did lots of folks grandmas eat it and live to be hearty old farm gals? I'm in.

Just thought I'd share my new criteria in case it helps other folks decide who to listen to - follow the money first, is my rule of thumb. If they're not making any, maybe they're being honest.

(all of this ranting prompted by trying to find advice about food combining, finding it to be very conflicting, and wondering how on earth anyone is supposed to take responsibility for their own health-actions in a world so flush with information, half of it bad and the other half worse.)

I just read that many nuts can go rancid within a week of being removed from their shells. This is mostly the more oily nuts such as walnuts and pecans, etc.

There is zero possibility that store bought nuts out of their shells are less than one week old.

On top of that, shelled nuts (and seeds by the way) should be refrigerated to keep their oils from going rancid again, often in as little time as a couple weeks. I only know of one store I've ever been to that kept them in the refer, and they probably got them from a place that didn't.

I bring this up because we often find we have a hard time digesting nuts. I'm suggesting that inflammation of all sorts can be caused by eating rancid oils - and if we eat nuts that we buy outside the shell, we are most suredly eating rancid oils. If there are some of us who are "doing everything right" but who are still bloated or not quite on top of it, AND we eat lots of nuts, we might want to consider this.

I'm going to call the nut butter companies I utilize and ask them if they use shelled nuts/seeds in their products, or if they shell/hull them in their facility.

I'll post what I find for those who are interested.

I would most assuredly avoid the acid blocker unless you've had your stomach acid checked. Most folks (Americans anyway) have low stomach acid, and lowering it further will make you even more challenged to digest your food and get any good out of it. I have skimmed a book called "Why Stomach Acid is Good For You", and it is pretty compelling.

Digestive enzymes and betain HCI can help with digestion issues; probiotics a bit farther down the pipe help out with digestion. I'm like you; I avoid pharmaceuticals. They often have worse side effects than the thing they purport to "cure".

Good luck.

Oh yeah - lemon juice or apple cider vinegar at the starts of meals will increase your stomach acid. If this causes you problems, then you can figure that too little stomach acid may not be an issue for you. Most heartburn is caused by a lazy sphincter between your esophagus and stomach, letting the absolute acid environment of the tummy (required for digestion) seep into the delicate esophagus.

I have trouble keeping on weight when I follow a candida diet religiously. I have a few tips, and please, other folks correct me if they are no-no-s for candida!

1. amaranth. this is a great "grain" (actually a seed or veggie) that you make into hot cereal. It has over 700 calories per cup. I need these calories. They have stabilized me weight loss (I don't eat grains).

2. avocado

3. nut milks are supposedly a no-no since they are acid forming - if you decide to do a bit of nut milk, choose almond since it is more alkaline than other nuts

4. do you eat deceased animals? if so, that should help.

5. did I mention avocados?

6. quinoa is probably alright for a candida diet, in moderation. It is probably acid forming, so thusly avoided on some candida diets. But it has good nutrition, and helps fight the cravings for starchy stuff.

7. blended salads (especially with avocado). You get more salad per the meal. Using romain is good-mineralizing.

This really is a tough one, isn't it? Is it possible your weight will balance itself out once you've overcome the candida and start absorbing foods better?

Consider adding amaranth to your diet. It is a "grain" (actually a seed) which is most often made into hot cereal by boiling it 1 part amaranth to 3 parts water for nearly 30 minutes. This stuff is a nutritional powerhouse. It has lots of fiber, protein, and MAGNESEUM. It also is relatively high in calories for what it is, which I appreciate since I'm on the light side. Anyway, even if calories are a conern, consider checking it out. It's way more nutritious than grains - and other than quinoa, is probably the best bet. Quinoa is also good.

p.s. amaranth tastes a bit like corn husk. I like it with almond milk, which in my case (Pacific) is sweetened. But if you use unsweetened nut milk of some kind, you might want to add a drop of stevia or maple syrup or agave or whatever you use for sweetner.

Good luck.

p.p.s. I eat amaranth every day for breakfast and have been super regular, and finally regaining some of the stamina I used to have, but have lost along the way. It does not bother my stomach in the least, either, which is important.

For me, Celiac Disease has always been all about bloating and constipation. At the height of my symptoms I could go 5-7 days without pooping at all. Now I can't even imagine that.

Anyway, this what I found.

1. gluten (you've got that handled, unless some is sneaking in)

2. DAIRY

3. grains at all

I put dairy in all caps because it is a profound cause of constipation for me. Literally one tablespoon of butter can put me in a constipated state for a few days. It really does take DAYS to come out of it. So if you do dairy, you might consider it. Lots of other folks on the board have this experience as well.

As to the bloating, dairy cerrtainly gets me, but so does dried fruit or any time of sugary substance. I currently don't eat any fruit or sweet starchy veggies, no grains, no sugar, etc. (Not that you would need to go this far - I think I have a candida issue)

So my first two suggestions are to quit dairy to see if that helps. (Give it a few days to take effect.) And to really cut back your sugar.

Other folks have had costipation problems with other food intolerances.

Also, are you getting enough fiber, fat, and liquid - those are the three things we need to have nice bowel movements. Give it some thought. If you like avocados, they have the fat and fiber all in one delicious package.

watch too for tapioca, though someone probably already said this (I can't recall). But it gives me glutened-like symptoms, and it sounds like it does for plenty of others too.

Take care.

I'm not an expert AND everyone's digestion moves at different rates...but in general -

fruit stays in the stomach about 30 minutes to 60 minutes (60 is for banana and the like)

fat stays in there up to three hours, and meat

salad and veggies and stuff not quite as long

As to the intestines, well boy that's just anyone's guess. I think my stomach has fast digestion, but my intestines work more slowly. I think when I use the bathroom, typically it is at least 12 hours but up to 24 hours from when it went into my mouth. That is unless something has gone awry and it's sped up for ill reasons.

I don't really know what to say about the timing of your pains. I tend to feel sick right after eating, if i"m going to feel sick at all. Or I get so hungry I feel like throwing up, but it is not on my side.

Good luck to you.

Only read bits and pieces of this thread, but wanted to say that one group has recently found that cultures that historically have consumed high amounts of starches have adapted to have several copies of the amylase gene in their salivary glands. Their spit has more of the enzyme to chew up starches. This suggests that we are still adapting, and a high starch diet may be a far different experience for people descended from certain backgrounds.

That's fascinating. Thanks for sharing.

I guess I am just trying to say that sometimes we tend to either/or everything to the point of blurring the literally infinite number of possibilities between the two poles. But I'm an English major and a writer, so I put entirely too much import on words and the structure of our languaging. If it's true that we can only understand that which we can language (either aloud or to ourselves), then how we language directly influences (if not directs) what we see and what we believe to be true and real. Anyway, waxing a bit philosophical I suppose.

I'm going to go eat some low carb dinner entirely too late in the night. No one should eat at 10:30 should they?

To the person talking about the Body Ecology Diet --

I did that for some time, and it helped me immensely. On the BE diet, it would not matter if you were protein or carb type particularly - though it is low sugar/starch carbs...the 80% veggies and 20% protein is probably alright for either type.

The Body Ecology works wonders for candida and bacteria in the gut issues. It is hard to stay on for lack of calories and the die off can be particularly difficult if you do indeed have candida issues.

Anyway, let me know if you have any questions about it as well - I have the book and like I said, I think I did it stringently for about 3 weeks.

-Sherri

p.s. to everyone else. I do find it strange, in this idea of a specific type of digestive preference, that anyone would thrive on high starch foods. High starch natural foods from a paleolithic standpoint would be what, tubers? All of the high carb things we all think of when we think of high carbs, came pretty late in the game, and with settling down with agriculture. The majority of them are also what are known as 'stored grains', which are rife with bacteria and mold -- someone doing well on those things seems unlikely to me.

I read an interesting critique of the metabolic typing diet the other day, which focused not on that so much as how everyone is the same but in different states of health, as opposed to having some sort of genetic predisposition to being high carb or high protein digesters. It made some sense. There are not genes one can look at to determine protein/starch. Rather: how functional is your liver, how functional are your gallbladder and stomach and intestines, etc. This will help determine which things you seem to digest better. We all need the same nutrients. We all have the same internal organs (sort of organ removal, of course). ...I don't know...

All of this makes me wonder if thinking of our diets in these terms, these EITHER/OR terms of protein type or carb type (or mixed type) is just putting another box around something that is far more complex than all that, and at the same time more simple. We do have a tendency as a culture to like things in Aristotelian terms of Either/Or, Black/White, Right/Wrong ... when really these distinctions are not only arbitrary in alot of ways, but they also decrease the accuracy of our descriptions and understandings.

Just food for thought.

You have not described the discharge, but I get a slight discharge when I eat sugar. It is like clockwork -- too much fruit/sugar/agave/maple syrup/dates/etc., discharge. None of those things, no real discharge. It is not like a yeast infection per se in its description more just whitish/clearish and thin. But it definitely responds to sugar.

Just one idea.

I actually think it's nice that your doc said those things are likely all related. Often times, they are so caught up in curing symptoms, they forget about underlying causes, and how they can be the same for many disparate manifestations.

I would consider, based just on what you said, that you might have a problem with nightshades (potato, tomato, eggplant, peppers, tobacco). They can cause joint pain and sore throat and rash - so they might be one of your issues. Just a thought.

I hear folks on here all the time noticing things they never noticed before once they quit gluten. It is probably natural - I would think imperetive to survival - that we notice what's going on in our bodies. But if it is too overwhelming, we might not be able to fight or flight or whatever...sometimes as we get healthier, we notice more and more those little things that aren't healthy with ourselves. It drives my friends nuts. I notice the smallest little thing wrong with me.

Anyway, good luck to you.

Sherri

No problems, I'm sure (unless you were already having problems with your veggie diet).

If you get your protein from nuts/seeds/veggies, you can still eat all those things.

the only thing I can think of, is that lots of folks are sensitive to other foods, which becomes more noticable to them once they quit gluten. A big culprit is soy; another is dairy. If you are a vegetarian that relies on soy foods a lot, or dairy foods a lot, you may end up having problems. Frankly, they're not necessarily good choices even if you aren't allergic/sensitive.

I was a vegetarian for 15 years; when I was diagnosed with celiac, I ended up adding some fish and meat back out of frustration for nothing to eat, and to test if the animal protein made me feel more energetic. I'm strongly considering going back to veganism (dietary veganism, that is -- as a motorcyclist, I really want my leather protection racing down the highway).

What does your diet look like for the most part: bfast, lunch dinner on average. Or what are your sources of protein and fat?

I've not had too much trouble with depression in my life, but the anxiety...whoa! I was diagnosed with "Generalized Anxiety Disorder", which means I would have anxiety attacks at random times. (Actually, it turns out almost always they showed up right after eating). These attacks were terrible. I would suddenly get clammy hands, have to poop emergenty, get tingly, especially in my groin area and down my legs to the knees, sometimes I would not know anyone around me (even though one of them was my mother, for example, or my partner of 17 years), and I was completely afraid of an unknown something or other. I would shake uncontrollably. Well, I could control it, but only for moments at a time when it would take over again. I felt utterlly untethered to the earth or to my own body. You get the picture.

Since quitting gluten (and 'perfecting' the diet), I have had exactly ZERO of these attacks. In fact, I can tell I have been glutened by any of the above symptoms. (Now that I know what it is, the absolute stress of the attacks has gone down, and I've not had a full one. ) The other day I got just CC'd very lightly, and got the tingly thing and fear of throwing up (I have a terrible fear of throwing up). No real tummy ache per se, but the absolute terror of vomiting. I had to lie in bed perfectly still with my knees elevated until I fell asleep.

I've told my therapist (not so much for anxiety but for relationship issues) that he should suggest to all his patients with anxiety that they be tested for celiac. He thought so too, having celiac disease himself.

Sherri

tough one! the dairy does come to mind; and the soy. I recently got VERY sick and it was right after I ate a cake I had made (gluten free of course). I couldn't eat anything sweet for a month. Anyway, I think it was the Norovirus, which was going around our town big-time a month later. Maybe I started the trend!

Is it possible it was a tummy thing? Or that there was something "bad" in what you ate? I don't know the ingredients of the pumpkin soup. Any eggs that might've been undercooked with salmonella or anything like that? No pooping troubles?

A tough case, to be sure.

Hi! I'm old (39), but am a college student with Celiac Disease. I know it's no fun on campus...at least you don't live on campus. I live at home and can make myself food to take to school, and I don't stay on campus for more than two classes at a time in any given day really, so I hardly ever have to deal with eating issues on campus. The beer thing is a bit rough - the "I'd die without it" attitude lives on in the post-college world, that's for sure. I don't drink at all, but if you do drink, you could certainly have wine. Then you'd be cosmopolitan as well.

I know what you mean about having to leave class in a rush, or fear doing that, or fear having to have a VERY bad time in the bathroom. I once sat in the last stall of the bathroom flushing every couple of minutes lord knows, and waiting to come out until class had started so the room had emptied out. I didn't want anyone putting my face to what I was doing in there.

Just so you know, Celiac Disease is covered under the Americans With Disabilities Act (or so is my understanding) and you can let your campus health office know about it, thus getting you off the hook at least with your professors. There may also be a club on your campus for folks with food allergies, or with celiac (can always start a student club for that too), or with eating issues of whatever kind. That might be a good place. Also, you might have a local celiac support group where you could meet new friends who do have some experience with it.

College is tough enough w/o these issues, I know. You'll get in the groove though, I'm sure. As to healing time, it's different for everyone. It sure seems like at first it is very up and down, highs and lows. But if you're very strict about the gluten, and watch for other food sensitivies and take it easy on yourself, it should ease up. Pretty soon, it'll be totally normal to you - and your friends will get used to it too. (Although, they'll probably forever tell you how fantastic their blue cheese on french bread is or ask you how you can live without pizza. Oh yeah, having a real tough time breathing w/o my pizza.)

Not 100% sure of my type. I took Dr. Mercola's test online, which turned out to be a huge disappointment - asked me what I already ate, and didn't even give vegetarian choices for crying out loud. I came out protein type on it. Anyway, one thing that lends itself to being a protein type is being hungry a lot and thinking about food a lot - I sure fit into that category. So I suppose I'm not totally sure.

One thing I noticed while eating grains is that I rarely got truly hungry. This was disturbing to me. Now that I'm grain free, I get amazingly hungry ... all the time is the problem. Anyway, I'm sure I'm close to figuring it out. I hope so because my partner and I are leaving on a 12-18 month motorcycle tour of the American west - camping! He loves cornbread and tortillas and beans (all things I don't eat) ... I eat mostly nuts, seeds, tomato, avocado, salad, amaranth. It'll be interesting! I need to get my half figured out for sure, though, since digestive problems on the road will suck the big one.

When you say weight loss is the only issue, do you mean that you are losing weight, or you aren't?

I lose. I tend to lose weight on the low carb; but admittedly, I don't eat a LOT of protein...just no starchy carbs and no fruit or sugar of any kind. I am 5'9 and if I eat millet bread or corn tortillas for starch every day, I stay about 130, but if I quit, I eek down to below 125. it's alright I suppose, to be on the lean side, but I'd get worried if I dropped much past 125 at all. Got down to 123 a few months ago, but then added back bread.

I eat LOTS of avocados, and I sometimes eat nut milk, but I have to avoid all sugars, or I bloat up and get other symptoms of bacterial overgrowth as well...so it would have to be homemade almond milk. Don't know if you've priced out almonds lately. Holy smokes! And if I eat too many nuts, I can get some intestinal pains as well, though it takes a while to build it up.

I have recently added amaranth, which is high protein for a "grain" (not a grain, actually) and only really tastes good with almond milk (forcing some of those calories as well)...so maybe that will help balance it out. Good breakfast! Buckwheat (also not a grain) works in moderation, but if I eat it too often or too much at once, it's too heavy and causes heartburn and weird stomach.

Plus, I can't eat eggs. I know they are pretty low calorie, but they are at least some protein. Don't work for me at all.

I'll figure it all out I guess...one of these days. It's funny. Stomach prefers raw vegan; Energy hasn't figured itself out yet; bowels prefer raw vegan as long as not too much nut......Raw vegan is very close - so raw vegan plus some high purine meat should work just great I would think. I just wish I could eat dates/agave/etc for some of the fun stuff.

(did make chocolate mousse out of avocado the other day and it was superb! but then, made me sicky feeling from all the sugar. oh well.)

It's possible your tummy/system (it's actually your intestines gurgling most likely) doesn't like heavy carbs like rice/potato/bread. Could you try having your meat with a salad for a few days and see if that helps? (Salad w/o any dried fruit or croutons or high sugar/starch things.) Or some cooked veggies (not corn or potato or squash)?

I don't do well on rice at all. I know for lots of folks it's a comfort tummy food; but it bugs my digestive system.

One thing you should know right off the bat is that it is 100% normal for peristalsis to begin when you eat. That's when your intestinals start contracting. If you've ever had a new puppy, they tell you that every time you feed the dog, take them out right after that so they can poop.

That said, it's socially weird to poop every time you eat, and like you said, sometimes it is feeling a bit urgent. I have the same problem. The family makes fun of me since I have to get up from the table about 1/3 of the time and go poop while eating or right after eating. This is mostly a dinner problem for me, not so much lunch or breakfast.

Anyway, not as weird as you might think. However, you might examine if you are eating too much. The other thing you can do is sit on the pot at specific times of day whether or not you have to poop, and try to move the time you do so. Drink hot tea or water with lemon before you do so, so peristalsis will take place. I think the body habitualizes when it poops. I accidentally got into midnight poop time a few weeks ago, and thankfully got out of that.

As to feeling like you might still have to go after you've gone - I wonder if the peristalsis on you is really strong. I've found that if I eat certain foods, my peristaltic action seems sporadic and strong - so the same symptoms - feeling like I have to go now, and then again now and then again now five minutes apart. A real pain.

So I would look for food intolerances. But don't worry too much about needing to poop after eating. That's normal.

I am working on it. I was a vegetarian for years, then vegan. So moving to a more protein based diet has been a challenge for me. I was doing raw vegan with lots of success for a few weeks, but the amount of nuts I would have to consume to get the protein was a bit tough on the old intestinals after a few days.

So now I do mostly raw, but also grass-fed beef an buffalo. No grains. I'm eating trout today, so hopefully that will be good. Mostly rabbit food, as my dad says.

I think what I have to find is a balance of how much. If I have 1/3 hamburger patty in one meal, that might be too much. But if I ate that over the course of the day with every meal, that might work better.

Anyway, still fiddling around with it. But no grains definitely has immediate beneficial effects (brain works lots and lots better). Weight loss is the only issue I've got with it -- well, that and wishing I was eating a creamy baked sweet potato. Yum.