BRUMI1968

I just wanted to reiterate that anyone with GERD/heartbearn/acid indigestion should look into the levels of their stomach acid. They may well be too low.

In the 1930's, the Mayo clinic pumped a bunch of peoples stomachs to measure stomach acid (not how they do it anymore - now an easy test) and found that over half of folks over 60 had substantial low amounts of stomach acid.

There is a book (I have not read) called "Why Stomach Acid is Good For You" by Jonathan Wright, MD and Lane Lineard, PhD. Dr. Wright has a clinic that treats GERD/heartburn/acid indigestion, etc., and finds that most folks that come in with GERD-like symptoms have low stomach acid.

One last note...a lot of doctors have been telling folks to take acid blockers, as have commercials, when they get indigestion or heartburn, without having suggested you get the levels of your stomach acid tested. These acid blockers are making it so that folks can't digest their foods properly, especially if they had low acid to begin with. I actually just learned that GERD is a term/condition that was invented by MERCK, as a marketing tool for their drugs. Heartburn does exist, chronic heartburn does exist, but the term GERD was invented by a drug company, to make it easier to get folks permanently on acid blockers, the very things that may be increasing the incidence of GERD throughout America. (Unfortunately, much of our doctors' educations past medical school come from drug companies, so this easily seeped into common parlance and even the diagnostic books of physicians.)

Food for thought. I bring all this up because I had mentioned it before, then saw a whole thing on B12 absorption today that talked about how many Americans have low stomach acid. Thought it was an interesting coincidence.

Nancy, how do you deal with sweet tooth? I don't have a severe one, but it is there to a degree, especially when everyone else is eating cake or something.

I think I know what you're saying when you say "wheat breads were soaking up the acids before", but wheat is highly acidic. I think I know what you mean, however.

As to the acid reflux - you should definitely analyze your diet to see how it is acid or alkaline. It should be extremely alkaline. This means vegetables and fruits. Nuts (except almonds), meats, dairy, and baked goods - are all acidic. Even though some veggies seem acidic (tomatoes, oranges, etc.), they have an alkaline reaction in the body.

If you eat a lot of meat/nuts/dairy/baked goods, you are overly acidic. Most Americans are. (You can google acid/alkaline to find out which foods fall into which categories.)

You can also buy at the co-op or health food store or vitamin store, little strips on which you pee, and it will give you a reading of your urine pH. It will be high in the a.m., but should lower as you eat throughout the day.

Also, some spices can lead to acid reflux...I"m thinking cinnamon. I don't have acid reflux at all, but I'll get mild heartburn sometimes after I drink Bengal Spice tea which is based in cinnamon.

A last thing to consider is that some research is pointing to the fact that many Americans do not have enough stomach acid to properly digest their foods, and that often the symptoms of this can mimic acid reflux. It seems counterintuitive for sure, but if you have good health insurance, you might ask about that, and about getting tested for appropriate stomach acid levels.

I am actually a threat to the availability of avocados worldwide, I eat so many of them. The nut butters, though, I can't tolerate very well. Nut milk I can tolerate pretty well, and nuts themselves seem fine -- I just think the nut butter might be too much. It is honestly as simple as eat bread/tortillas: gain weight up to about 130 -- don't: lose weight to about 123-125 or so. It's alright, maybe that's my natural weight. It's a bit light, but as long as I have energy and stuff...

As to feeling lightheaded when I quit grains, nope. I immediately felt more grounded. My mind felt lighter; but not lightheaded.

Candida is sure a bit possibility. I've never done anything other than a no fruit/sugar/starch diet and probiotics (as in, never taken any of the drugs or supplements for it) and it probably ebbs and flows.

Also, as a sidenote - I think I might've gotten mildly glutened the day I got the sweet taste. I also had a canker sore, tingling in weird places, a general feeling of anxiety, and a tummy ache. I had been at my parents' house. they think they're gluten free, but they're not. My step-dad has DH, but he's on dapsone so hasn't been in the position to find out when he's getting glutened.

Anyway, thanks all!

I certainly eat carbs, and I know Nancy does too. Vegetables are carbohydrates. We do need them to survive, to be sure. They make great fuel.

My dietary rule of thumb is 80% veggies, 20% whatever else (protein). I don't mix protein and carbs; they digest differently and it weakens digestion to eat them at the same time. But most veggies are okay to eat with protein. Best not the starchy ones like potato/sweet potato/winter squash.

You can certainly get enough carbs from garden variety veggies. Whatever our ancestors were eating before Safeway came around, right? So greens, fruits, animals, nuts, seeds, flowers.

Nancy,

Would the sweet taste come after eating carbs? Like sweet potato? Or does it just come and go as it pleases? I have not been eating high protein - just no grain. Some carbs, mostly in the way of salad, quinoa, amaranth, and sweet potato. Anyway, today it was the quinoa that made it go sweet on me.

Dinner was hamburger and salad - and no sweet taste afterward. Still a bit of a residue from earlier.

Anyway, does what I just ate matter if it is ketosis?

-Sherri

I was for sure feeling better grain free (just like I did last time)... but was relying heavily on sweet potato to take care of both cravings for starchiness, and calories (I lose too much weight on grain free). The last couple times I've had them, they seemed too sweet, and left a sweet taste in my mouth that I hate...but I said that part already. It also, I noticed after posting but before brushing, leaves a yucky coating on my tongue. I think I am so susceptable to sugary things (I can tell I've had to much by my tongue, and some other stuff that gives it away).

However, when I look back at my diet diary, I also see that for the past three or four days, I've eaten sugar (in the form of agave and dates mostly, no refined sugar). It could be that it was going to get me. I have been feeling bloatier as it went along. The sugary thing. I would really like to be able to eat fruits, dried fruits, agave, maple syrup, etc. But frankly, I just don't think I can right now. Maybe it's a candida thing, I don't know. I hope so, because it would be nice to think I can enjoy these things again. I don't miss refined sugar...but fruit, I miss a bit.

One thing I noticed being grain free for a week was that I was not very stinky. I have been getting too hot (mostly indoors, since the Pacific Northwest spring has been practically colder than the winter was)...and no smell. So that is nice.

Maybe I should eat more meat again. For some reason when I went grain free again, I went meat free. I've thawed a hamburger for myself for tonight (grass fed). Hamburger and salad I guess. I am trying to only eat 1/2 hamburger a day max (1/3 pound hamburger) or I lose the no stinkiness thing.

Thanks for the info on ketone stuff. I'm going to look that up for interest too.

Oh yea, and the clearer mind was the first thing I noticed. I, like you, was feeling pretty good before going grain free -- actually testing out for some itching (that I think is chlorine based maybe). ANyway, thanks all.

Hi all. I am getting a sweet taste in my mouth after eating things like sweet potato and even quinoa. No sugar added. I've had this before once, when I was really sick with stomach-flu...a really sweet tasting mouth. I don't like it. Anyway, my stomach also feels really airy - like when I eat it is joining a bunch of air and starting gurgling. If you think about how when you have a terrible bronchitis or something and every breath feels flemmy? It is very much like that, only in my digestive system.

I'm going to pound some probiotics, which is how I got rid of this last time. But I'm just at a loss - I'm not eating sugar. (Well, I was eating sugar the day or two before ... could it be delayed reaction? or could it be a mild sbbo?) And I'm going to eat ZERO sugar and no more sweet potato for a while (have been grain free, so the sweet potato was my fallback starchiness).

Look for Coconut Bliss at your food co-ops and healthfood stores. It's also soy, dairy, gluten, corn, free - and only uses agave nectar for sweetner - so sugar free literally as well. Is super duper good.

I've been reading how teeth are porous, and how toothpastes with glycerin in them coat the teeth, disallowing them to breath. I now use tooth soap, which is soap made from olive oil. It's pretty weird - foamy. I also use Uncle Harry's toothpaste, which is just clay and minerals, and maybe some silver for antibacterial. I also swish with sesame oil with other oils every day (minty oils).

I haven't been doing it long enough to vouch ... but my tooth sensitivity is gone.

They also suggest eating a head of romaine lettuce every day, to remineralize. I suppose any good mineralizing food would do (greens, etc.)

Dr. Ben's newsletter is a place to read up on the tooth soap if you're interested. Google dr. ben?

I wonder if you felt better with the peanut butter since it has high protein. What other protein sources do you have in your diet besides the occasional fish/turkey? and pumpkin seeds?

There is some thinking about nutritional typing/metabolic typing that says some folks need more animal protein than others; and that some of that might be best as red meat (different chemical makeup). I don't know. I have experimented with different amounts of red meat from none for twenty years, to a grass-fed burger every two days. Still not sure what I think. Anyway, it's something to think about.

I sure hope you feel better soon. It is possible you have a candida problem that is causing the bloating. The number one thing that helped my bloating was quitting sugar. And this includes dried fruits, in fact, they were a big problem for me.

The only other thing about the constipation is that walking really helps. I know you said you were active, so you probably have that handled as well.

You'e a tough case since it seems you've gotten all the big obvious stuff taken care of. Maybe it's peristalsis issue...do you eat at the same time every day? I'm grasping.

Good luck.

Oh yeah, as to which foods are easier for the gut to handle? I think that is individual. Chewing your food really well will help a lot. Not eating too much in one sitting will really help a lot. Not eating anything from 7pm or so until morning will probably really help a lot (rest). Digestive enzymes might well help quite a bit, as well as betain hci or some other sorts of things like pancreatic stuff.

Soy is one of the highest allergen foods (soy, wheat, corn, dairy, eggs). I'm unaware if soy lecithin is a problem for most folks with soy problems.

I tested as positive to antibody response to soy in a stool analysis (meaning, my body creates antibodies to soy - acting as though it is the enemy) though I've never attributed any symptoms specifically to it. I don't touch it. There is also a decent bit of evidence that soy has other problems associated with it (blocks absorption of minerals, is estrogenic, etc.)

So I'm not sure what to say, other than that soy is a high allergen food, so it is certainly possible that the supplement bugged your system.

I wish I could be more help with the itching.

Yeah, I know a lot less down there. My folks live in Tacoma, and my step-dad was diagnosed with DH, so they have to buy gluten-free stuff. I think they go to Fred Meyers and a healthfood store with a lady's name, I forget what. But they just go out to eat willy nilly. He's still on Dapsone, so he wouldn't notice if he were getting glutened.

Our farmer's market is only from about April to October. It sure is nice, though. We have two - one downtown on Saturdays, and then one nearer to my neighborhood on Wednesdays. We did get a farm open up a little stand downtown which seems open all year, now that I think about it.

It's funny how we have these "staple" foods that we consider completely normal as part of our diet. Like wheat, rice, potato Wheat came from the Levant (Iraq area? Is Levant the same as Fertile Crescent) and came all over the world as folks moved it around. But what "staples" were from here? Well, in the southwest and in Mexico, maize and amaranth; south america quinoa and potato; but what about north america? What did Native Americans eat for staples? Tubers of some kind? Nuts?

Around here (Pacific Northwest Coast) they ate pemmican a lot - this is rendered fat, salmon meat, berries, all compressed and dried. In the summer game and fruit and stuff. I don't know. Whales. Fish.

Anyway, this being less the point than stuff that grows naturally in a place that could be grown. When we get a place we want to settle down permanently (probably in the SW or in Montana), were going to look into what the Native Americans ate there before our culture tried to murder their culture; but also, what things would grow well here, like amaranth growing in arid soil, or quinoa at high altitude, etc.

Grain free is good when you think about eating locally...and I'm grain free...so that's good. Sunflowers...where are they from? (South America I guess, and that's where stevia comes from too.)

There is a GREAT upscale gluten free restaurant in Madison Park in Seattle. It is called Impromptu Wine Bar.

www.impromptuwinebar.com

They do serve glutinous food as well, but they had a celiac sufferer come into their kitchen and give them some advice. I had no problems eating there. Good food.

Portland, of course, is the place to be for Celiac, but alas......there are some others, but Impromptu is the only mid-to upsacle place I can think of. I believe, though, actually, that Madison Park Cafe has a gluten free portion on their menu. They are vegetarian. Good luck.

I saw a study that showed antibiotics worked well for large bowel bacterial overgrowth, but less so for small bowel. However, I do know at least one person on here had great success with the antibiotic treatment.

I suspect I have SBBO myself. I think quitting all sugars and sugary fruits is key - no fruit, no sweeteners (other than stevia), no starchy stuff (potatoes, etc). Also, keeping yourself alkalinized (low protein, at least temporarily, and no baked goods, flours, etc.) and oxygenated. [in other words, mostly vegetables - 80-90%, with 10-20% protein sources.] Then, probiotics like crazy. I don't know if this is curative or not; but I do know that bacteria love sugar.

The best success I've ever had with diet and digestion issues was the Body Ecology Diet which included no sugary stuff as I outlined above - but for long term use it was just too low calorie for me.

Good luck to you!

Hi all!

It sounds like some of the stuff you're eating can be tough to digest. I'm thinking of the pumpkin seeds. Very good for you, but a bit tough on the old system.

I do not eat any grains at all, but do enjoy the non-grain grains, such as quinoa, buckwheat, and amaranth. Buckwheat does give some folks trouble.

The biggies to get rid of first (you may already have done so)

GLUTEN

CORN

SOY

DAIRY

EGGS

Then

NIGHTSHADES (this does not include sweet potato, which is in marigold family or black pepper)

LEGUMES

GRAINS (besides gluten, which is an obvious one, right?)

I did get allergy testing. I tested as not allergic to a single thing. This was the ALISA test (blood), not the skin test. However, I can't really eat honey or potato for sure, and have some trouble with all grains. I'm not sure -- if you have intolerances, or are currently unable to digest well due to long-term celiac, then allergies might not be the biggest of your difficulties.

Have you tried taking any digestive enzymes? I used DigestGold for a while when I was coming off the gluten, as well as Betain HCI, which is supposed to raise your stomach acid though there is some debate whether or not it actually does. I eventually got off those as they stopped being helpful; but I think at first this may have really helped.

As to the constipation and bloat - that is my area of expertise. I have perfected both of these things -- for 35 years was the queen of constipation and bloat.

We need three things to have good bowel movements: Liquid (water and water from foods, etc.), Mass (fiber, roughage, etc.), and Oil (to lube the pipes I suppose). If you get lots of fiber w/o lots of liquid and oil, you'll have trouble. My biggest trigger for constipation is dairy. My biggest trigger for bloat is dairy, then dried fruit, then sugar of any kind.

I eat lots of avocado (fiber and oil), which no doubt helps. For a while I ate flax seed, which really bulked thing up (be sure to drink lots of water if you eat flax seed, and be sure it's not rancid, which causes inflammation - you're best off to grind it yourself in a coffee grinder not used for coffee).

I feel like I've been rambling.

Check these things: do you eat dairy, nightshades, dried fruit, lots of sugary fruits or sugar, or not enough liquid or not enough oil or too much salt (contractive)?

beans are good fiber (if you can tolerate them, I can't), avocados, flax seeds, greens, veggies.

Have you thought of keeping a food diary and recording what/when/how much you eat, then recording on the same sheet how you feel, when you poop, etc.? This can be very helpful (and usually folks writing down what they're eating eat a lot more healthily.)

It sounds like you're eating some good stuff, so I don't know specifically what it is. But hopefully I've said something that makes you think about something - I'm scattered this morning.

Oh yeah, vitamin/mineral deficiencies can also cause constipation. I forget which...folks on here know. I'm sure someone will say.

Does he like nuts? (And is he not allergic?) Also, you can use different grains for food which have higher protein, such as quinoa and amaranth. Amaranth makes a pretty good hot cereal if you cook it, then sweeten it a bit or serve with almond milk or something.

Does he do dairy? That is protein. If not, nut milks have good protein.

spirulina is a good source of protein, but I'm trying to think how you'd squeeze that in - it would have to be in a smoothy or something, and it's pretty expensive stuff. Good for you though, most likely.

Beans have really good protein - black beans especially. Does he like beans or refried beans?

Interesting. I eat a lot of salt, so I doubt I've got the same problem. I'm trying to figure out why my legs are so tired. It could actually be my back, which is a bit screwy right now from playing baseball with my dog (swinging the bat, especially when I miss, can tweak things out a bit). But it seems like my legs are super weak and tired.

I can't eat lara bars really anymore because the combo of nuts and dried fruit is really a no-no for me (bad food combining, though it doesn't seem to bother most folks), causing gas and bloating.

I'm trying some cooked amaranth for breakfast this morning (not a grain - a seed). I hope it's good ... I struggle for a breakfast. I am not doing eggs right now either, so that makes it tougher.

Thanks for sharing.

A whole other facet to our thinking about eating is going to be LOCAL - this with the rising food costs. In many parts of the world, there are riots for food. Eating right now is so global. I ate a tomato and avocado for lunch, both of which would not be growing here (Pacific Northwest) right now (or ever in the case of the avo). No rice. No sugar. No wheat (thankfully). ... Lots of potatoes and raspberries where I live...and then the nice garden veggies of course. We provide Idaho with their potato starts, and the world with the most mustard seed of anyplace else. We also have lots of tulips...but those don't taste so good. And salmon and deer (heck in my back yard I could feast on deer)...

So many of us eat foods from all over the place without really thinking about it. The other day we were looking at eggs at the store. No one in America should buy/eat eggs from more than 50 miles from their house. Chickens can be "grown" anyplace. But there were eggs from California, milk from Wisconsin. Whatcom County where I live has one of the highest dairy productions in the country! When going through Montana, BEEF COUNTRY, we went to a restaurant that boasted Iowa corn fed beef. What the heck?

Point is ... what are we eating that is not sustainable? We will probably find out pretty darn quick in the next ten years when food transportation costs skyrocket. With my avocado habit, I'm going to have to move south.

Our lantern is candle -- sorry -- it's a candle lantern and we use beeswax candles (parafin is made from petroleum and gives out fumes and uses petroleum, something I'd rather save for the gas tank).

Our other goal, besides seeing the American West, is to find a place we'd like to settle, where we'll farm a bit. I look forward to the bed with the sun and up with the sun thing...and I can handle lots of sleep in the winter too.

Thanks for the info.

I'm still playing around with this grain free thing. I went about 7 days without grain. Just into about 2 days I lost the 2 to 3 lbs of water weight. I did'nt like that to much so I upped my fruit. Going into the 4th day or so I was pretty lethargic and felt drained. Didn't sleep the best. I felt it had to do with my poor functioning adrenals so I looked it up.

Sure enough my potassium was to high. Because of my adrenals I need higher sodium levels. It felt like I was needing water but my body couldn't hold on to it. It would go right through me. I salted all my meals and that helped alittle.

I still wasn't sleeping the best lacked any sustaining energy and it was sunday (day 6) and sunday's are pizza night at our home. I couldn't resist and had the millet/flax pizza crust and the sodium in the sauce, mozzerella cheese and pepperoni was what I needed for the best night's sleep in a week and I had more energy on monday. Gained 3 lbs overnight but thats good.

So for me it's going to be a matter of limiting grains. I have to be careful not to have to many high potassium fruits.

I think I'm going to do a four day rotation on the grains or try a (non gluten) grain one day and not have it again until I've tried then all and record how I do with each of them. I suspect I'm reacting to one of them.

One thing for sure its nice to be off sugar again. That must of had alot to do with how I was feeling to lead me into all this.

Don't think this thread is going to take off but wanted to mention about the pottasium/sodium balance when someone has poor adrenal function in hope it will help someone.

Gail

was your excess potasium caused only by food? was it because you were low sodium diet? i eat a lot of potassium via avocados and the like, but also eat quite a bit of salt (sea salt and himalayan crystal salt). How can I know if I'm balanced?

fyi: black pepper is not a nightshade. If it bothers you, which it may very well, it is for some other reason.

I am glad to read about this sleeping thing. My partner and I are about to embark on quite an adventure in life; we're selling virtually everything we own and touring the American West by motorcycle. We'll be camping the entire time. We plan to be out at least a year. I like sleeping in the fresh air and the light issues; I'm just nervous of all the animals and such, but I'll probably get used to that. I'm going to try the candle/lantern thing starting tonight ... I've been having trouble sleeping which is unusual.

Not to be my usual killjoy, but even one glass of wine a day for women can increase cancer risk. Look for the studies online. Dr. Mercola and elsewhere.

Hardly anyone talks about how the goodness found in wine is also found elsewhere...grapes, tomatoes, tea.

Just be on the cautious side with wine or any alcohol, especially if you're a woman, and especially if you have cancer in the family tree.