Stay away from Dairy

I'm a newbie to healingwell, but I can tell you for a fact that dairy is an absolute 100 % trigger. I suffer mostly from joint and muscle pain, if I have dairy (even something like creamer in coffee) I am almost bedridden. I'm not sure if others have noticed this but it is just killer for me. I read that milk is too acidic and that is what causes the inflammation.

I'm not a big dairy person either, but once you cut it out completely, I was like oh wait, no cheese on my turkey burger. Oh wait, no creamer in my coffee, oh wait, no cheese on my taco. Darnit. LOL. I try to stay away from anything cow related. lol There's some website called MilkSucks and its loaded with good info. I haven't even switched my 17 month old to cow milk, and not sure I will. Rice milk or almond milk is a great alternative.

I can tell you that when I do have dairy (yesterday I had pudding) it changes me completely. I felt ok yesterday, but after the pudding I could barely get myself off the couch and today I was super tired, depressed, and couldn't even put my baby's shoes on him because of the pain and weakness in my hands.

Once you reallllllly take notice of what you've eaten vs how you feel the next day, you start to put 2 and 2 together.

As far as Atkins, if you do it very very strict, please note that you might herx after the 1st few days... headache etc....

I've actually talked to a Macrobiotic Chef. She is who suggested that Dairy is a no no for all Lymies. There's a long list of course... sugar, soda (or anything carbonated) it goes on... I took some classes. Macrobiotics is very interesting, and is extremely strict, but has been known to cure people from lots of diseases. (including cancer) I agree with you on the sugar, artificial additives etc... however I've eaten as little as a few bites of cheese with the same effects.

Miso Soup is VERY healing, ( and almost no carbs) it is suggested that Lymies eat it daily. I have to admit when I do eat it, I definitely see improvement. I just get bored with it.
* Miso is high in the minerals iron, copper and manganese, it is naturally high in protein, vitamin K, and vitamin B12.
* Miso is rich in the immune boosting mineral zinc, is great for the digestive tract because miso is high in fiber and probiotics.

I haven't done Atkins but I've done a yeast cleanse that is no carbs. It worked wonders but I think because I had Lyme and didn't know it, that when I stopped the cleanse (it was 2 months long) my cravings and such came back. It's a great regimen though if you are interested and the author replies to your questions with in 24 hours usually. He is amazing. His name is Kelley Eidem. The hub it's listed on is http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Flatten-Your-Tummy-and-End-Food-Cravings-EFFORTLESSLY

oh and I do alkaline strip testing.

Jenn - It sounds like you have a healthy diet. I know about dark leafy greens and eat them and other veggies regularly. I was on the pH Miracle diet (mostly vegetables) for several years and also do alkaline strip testing. Do your tests come out well? Are you on an alkaline diet? I haven't tried it but I think it would be pretty difficult to get enough nutrition combining the Atkins and pH diets (though they both recommend limiting grains and fruits). Also, after reading a book about Lyme (which confirmed information from another source) I've eliminted potential inflammation-causing foods from my diet, further narrowing the choices for nutrition. As far as calcium goes, I'm less concerned with how much calcium is in someting than I am with how much I am able to absorb from it. This seems to be a problem for me, though recently I started taking enzymes with my meals and maybe that will help.

I don't eat Miso - would have to research to see if it is something I would eat. When I was on the IC boards (pre Lyme diagnosis) I learned that Miso can be a bladder irritant so I haven't eaten it for years. I do however eat pumpkin seeds which are also a good source of zinc.

I'd be interested to learn more about the yeast cleanse. I've done the yeast (connection) diet several times when fighting an outbreak, but I don't know about the cleanse. The yeast diet I've done recommends eating a little yogurt each day, but I've read in other sources that dairy should be avoided completely. It's difficult to weed through the various recommendations. In my experience, if you look around enough you can find an expert of one kind or another who will recommend pretty much anything. Some say it's all about cutting carbs and eating a high protein diet (Atkins, South Beach, adrenal fatigue guide, and several Lyme sources). Some say we eat way too much protein and it's all about eating raw, fresh veggies (pH Miracle, vegetarians). Some say eat lots of fruit, but others say the sugar in fruit is always bad and only low-sugar fruits should be eaten (pH Miracle, candida guidelines). Our government "experts" have the food pyramid that includes dairy, grains, and fruit as part of a healthy diet. I've read that the Japanese diet is good with its high rice, fish, and vegetable content. But I've also read that limitiing fish intake is advised because of contaminants and that white rice isn't desirable. I've read both that fermented and aged foods are healthy choices, and in other sources that they are not. I've read that yeast is great for you (and some people take it as a supplement), but I've also read that it should never be eaten. The list goes on and on. In the end, I believe it's best to do what you are doing and listen to your body and follow your best judgment as to which expert has the right answer for you.

Rose

Rose

Jenn,

Unless I stick to the pH diet absolutely mine is 5.5 to 6 also. I've been told that that is because of toxins making my urine (and presumably the rest of me) acidic. Before I knew I had Lyme I couldn't figure out why I would be so riddled with toxins because I have always been very careful with my diet and environment, and I did a lot of cleansing things. My husband, who eats whatever he wants, also tested his urine and his pH was perfect. That let me know that it was me, not just the food that was causing the acidity.

When I developed interstitial cystitis in 2007 I went on the pH diet in an attempt to diminish the acidity of my urine and thus ease the bladder pain. The book is interesting; the author contends that harmful microorganisms (and cancer) can't live in an alkaline environment and therefore keeping the body at a targeted alkallinity will help eradicate them. He and his wife developed a couple of cook books to go with their dietary recommendations. The way you have to eat to follow that diet is not similar to what most people in this country eat. If you are a vegetarian it will be easier to follow. I had two problems when i was on the diet. First, I could not maintain enough weight (great if you want to lose weight), though that was partially due to the fact that I could not eat some of the foods because they were contraindicated by the IC diet that I also had to follow. Second, I developed yeast overgrowth while on the diet. Theoretically that should not have happened since yeast is a harmful microorganism (I think). Another concern is that the diet includes a few foods that some Lyme books say can cause inflammation. However, if you eliminate them the diet is still viable so that's not a big problem.

In the interest of trying different things to see if they work, it could be a useful experiment. I haven't read the book for awhile, but another thing I wonder is how well good bacteria and microorganisms live in an akline environment. I'm sure he talks about that.

Rose

Alone&scared,

What works for me is to pick something to try and to write down all of the other interesting things I may want to try in the future. If I tried to keep track of it all at once, or worse, if I tried to do it all at once, I think it would be too confusing and it wouldn't be good for me. I'm doing this thing one step at a time, but I'm also finding out everything I can about it so that I have an informed approach to options in the future.

Rose