Over the last two years
I've been on Modified GAPS friendly, Grain free, Sugar-free, High sodium,
Allergy Free, Low Histamine diet regimen. Recently within the last 6 months
also going, Low residue and low fodmap as well as keeping fairly low histamine.
But with the aid of H1/H2 antagonists.
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What’s highlighted I can and do eat
and what has a star is high in histamines
to approach with caution. |
It is an adjustment and
yes it's restrictive but...
1) Take it slow and go
one by one eliminating most reactive foods.
2) Once you're off it
while you stay off it until you feel you are ready
3) Slowly add back again
and see what you react to the most. You can find out what are your higher
trigger foods and you could be weary of those or have less of that in your
diet.
4) Be Patient with
yourself, it takes time to figure out what works best for you. And it is a
continuing process.
You'll see if it works
for you and if it does it will have all been worth it.
I began my journey with
GAPS and the healing your gut through diet over 2 years ago before my EDS
diagnosis when I was just trying to figure out how to cure my food allergies.
Suddenly I couldn't even drink water without horrible pain in my stomach, and I
wasn't having it, also had no health insurance so I had to figure it out
myself.
I bought the GAPS book
and had been studying it. I made many bone broth's and went grain and starchy
vegetable free as well I was already all allergen free for year prior. My
allergens are gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, pineapple, goat and Oyster. Also
Benadryl, yes the allergy medication! I also knew that nightshades are triggers
for me. And I recently learned root vegetables seem to cause a lot of gas,
bloating and pain as well, but nothing like as bad as the GP related Slow
Motility pain. I am so fortunate that I do not have the vomiting aspect of this
condition just very severe nausea and pain. I Stayed on a modified gaps like
diet adding in all the new things I learned over the years. Like the need for
8-10 grams of sodium a day and to pay attention to Histamine and FODMAP
foods.
I six months ago I went into
a really bad flare (after going across the country and eating lots of
"travel food" when I returned I could not tolerate soup or anything
more than ginger hard candies for several months and I am now on a even more
restricted diet like in the photo above. Low Residue, Low FODMAP, Semi
Histamine, GP Friendly. Currently I've been able to reintroduce my soups again
and I've noticed when well boiled, I've started to tolerate vegetables like
zucchini, kale, green onion tops, carrots and celery again. Not eating the
celery but for the flavor in the soup. I've been off most vegetables for a long
while and unless it's been cooking in a crock pot over 6 hours on High (or 10
hours on low) it's going to hurt my stomach. (My dietician told me cooking with
onion in a strainer bag allows the flavor but also keep the fructans out. which
are the FODMAP triggers. I have yet to try this)
What I learned now is
that the chicken skin d needs to be removed prior to cooking for me otherwise
the soup is too fatty and I cannot get it down. But it’s been going really well
with the organic chicken thighs. 1 in a small crock pot makes enough soup for
the day with some leftovers occasionally. Approximately 24 oz, I can also now
handle organic (beef and Bison) hotdogs and ground meats low in fat like bison
and ground turkey. These are low fat and low residue examples of meats I can
tolerate with little to no pain. It is really important if you're dealing with
slow motility or gastroparesis like problems to stay low residue and low fat. But
to keep in the healthy fats! I personally don't have the vomiting aspect
of GP but I have the severe nausea and severe pain.
Taking H1/H2 histamine
inhibitors for Mast Cell Activation Syndrome has allowed me to introduce more
higher histamine foods back into my diet including canned fish like, Wild
Planet Tuna (found at COSTCO) and Sardines (High in Sodium for us POTSies and
full of all kinds of healthy nutrients and fatty acids) I have even began
experimenting more with some corn puff cereal and corn chips on occasion as
well but do have a slight reaction. Grain free is the way to be.
Eventually I plan to
progress to reintroducing garlic to see how I react with just the one new
addition to the soup. I’ve also been off all dried spices for the last year and
I am now handling one peppercorn added to these soups. It’s a slow process and
while it is restrictive. It’s been 100% worth it. If it helps you you'll know
that it's helping you and that is the whole point!! To get some relief!!
I haven’t cured anything
but the pain is much more manageable. (Note: I also use iberogast and ginger
extract supplements before meals but not every time anymore)
Keeping on broths all
the time has been so important! The key for me is there are certain parts of
animals that can cause reactions, almost all cuts of beef for me now unless it’s
really processed like a hotdog. Unfortunately Trial and Error are all we have
for this. I stayed away from chicken for a year and then I had organic
chicken broth made with chicken breasts and then the whole chicken carcass but
now I'm only accepting chicken thighs and that working out really well like I
said.
In the FODMAP category I
notice I react mostly to the fruits like apples and pears, sometimes with mango
and watermelon, honey, beets, leeks, onions, beans, Any FODMAPS in excess
really. Also dried fruits, (this could have something to do with the sulfates)
I have been put on a partially liquid/ soft foods diet due to dysphagia and
have been following gastroparesis friendly rules, which allow for ground meats
and canned fish which are High Histamines (I had a harder time with prior to
the H1/H2 Combo) I noticed many Low Fodmaps are GP Friendly but are not Low
histamine so it can be a struggle at first to find what you can accept
My Tips and Personal
"Rules"
- NO RAW WHOLE NUTS EVER. Not even one! (not allergic
just difficult to digest)
- Homemade almond milk from one cup almonds for 1 quart
of milk is good and Honeyville almond flour is also okay in small
amounts.
- Bananas cause bloating and do not curb hunger
- Avocados cause pain like bananas do. I stayed away from
them or stick to 1/4-1/2 of one.
- Spinach less than 1 cup steamed or MCAS triggers.. Must
be well steamed.
- STAY AWAY FROM all known allergens cause (they cause
massive inflammation in me)
- No Fermented Products. I stay away from fermented and
cultured foods; foods still too high in histamine or meals or days with
too many histamines cause they build up and will trigger a MCAS attack.
- Onions are a problem but I can handle green onion tops
as per the gastroparesis friendly diets
- Grain free has helped me a lot with most of my stomach
problems. I have recently allowed rice protein based drinks into my diet
and I must water those down and some corn based products like chips and
cereal because this is so restrictive and they are FODMAP okay and I need
the calories. But I do feel these cause some problems but are the least
reactive of the grains.
These TIPs have helped
me to fight against the treacherous abdominal pain, bloating, gas, difficult
bowel movements and general discomfort. Still fighting hunger and fullness
while hungry it’s a continuing process.
I was low to no
histamine diet for over year until I started the H1/H2 combo at the recommendation
of Dr. Pradeep Chopra a very knowledgeable doctor on EDS/MCAS/POTS/GP Matters
I use liquid children's
Aller-TEC which is Centrizine or Zyrtec and I take that with a RX ranitidine also
known as Zantac 150 mg twice a day together. That’s the key otherwise it does
not help!
What it does help with is
the headaches, stomach cramps, digestion problems, spontaneous sweating,
itching and rash attacks. It's drastically decreased in these the last 4
months. Although make sure if you take the liquid zyrtec that it has SUCROSE
not SUCRALOSE... the later is a poison and was destroying my system when I was
accidentally taking it for 2 months
Once I got that figured
out it has allowed me to eat higher histamine foods or rather smaller histamine
foods throughout the day/week. Although I'm still struggling I am bringing back
some foods and figuring it out with others but the most important thing that I can’t
stress enough is soup soup soups!!!
For me GAPS Intro
concept has always been what I go back to. Those broths and their healing
powers. They're helpful and even my dietitian wanted me back on soups... I've
been ordered on a partially soft food liquid diet. So this is really important.
Bone Broths helping to heal the gut is proven to help alleviate multiple
illnesses and systemic G.I. problems as well as much more. It always comes down
to good gut flora. This can be quite difficult to manage.
RESOURCES I USED
Stanford Breakdown of
What kind of Sugars is in certain FODMAP foods:
Great FODMAP Breakdown
of what sugars are in what foods: second page:
Low Residue/High Fiber
Handout:
GAPS: What can I eat
Accepted and Not Accepted Handout:
http://files.meetup.com/2823572/GAPS-Diet-Foods.pdf
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