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made some massive changes to my diet!!

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Posted 5/1/2008 6:26 PM (GMT 0)
This is my 6th week on my new diet.I started feeling really bad last month and got fed up with constantly being tired and vomiting after i ate something. So i started a drastic diet change and it is working great.I've quit all caffeine( drinking coffee was one of my fav past times),sugar,soft drinks,all dairy,all breads and more or less any processed foods.The first few weeks  were so awful, i craved everything. But within days i noticed that the caffeine withdrawals disapeared and i actuallyt had twice as much energy as i had before.I'm not kidding i used to believe that i needed caffeine for energy, but i now believe it was the massive amounts of sugar i was consuming daily that was making me so tired.

    My diet consists of salads, vegetables,streamed chicken,rice,eggs,fruit and water.I have to say i feel great,i'm still flaring but i'm in great form apart from my back. I am no longer vomiting after i eat something,and i am a lot more active and a lot of the stress and anxiety i was under is now manageable.I believe the caffeine was playing havoc with my head.

    I know now what foods are causing me to be ill, so i'm going to avoid them. So far my Uc hasn't got any better but it hasn't got any worse either.Is this diet i created something similar to the SCD diet, because it is more or less all veg and fruits.

Posted 5/1/2008 7:12 PM (GMT 0)
Glad to hear you are feeling better!
Posted 5/1/2008 7:26 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to the club fatboyslim :)

I think once you've completely knocked out all processed and any fast-foods (if you ever induldge in that) as well, you will likely start to notice improvements with your UC. It will take time (I'm sure it varies from each individual) but sticking with healthy eating will prove to be the best for your health all around...especially since you've already noticed improvements with your energy level.

:)
Posted 5/1/2008 7:33 PM (GMT 0)

hey fatboyslim,

I'm so happy for you and I hope you continue to improve and feel better. It's always good to hear good news every now and then.

yeah

NBT

Posted 5/1/2008 8:16 PM (GMT 0)
Certainly is nice to hear you are feeling better and I am sure you are going to be an inspiration !! I know I had been indulging in fast foods <so hard when you work at a restaurant>, sugars and caffeine up until I started to flare. It was too late when I realized I shouldn't be eating the things I was. I am now staying away from the caffeine-laced drinks I was having and well as any type of fast or deep fried foods. I am eating alot more yogurt, fruits and vegetables and pastas. Feelin a bit better but still flaring.

Keep up the great work !!
Posted 5/1/2008 8:19 PM (GMT 0)
http://caffeineweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/02/CaffeinatedSpider.jpg

This was something I saw about 11 years ago (in a popular science magazine) that turned me off of caffeine.  I was a major Moutain Dew junkie at the time.  The turning point was not being able to donate blood after caffeine cause an erratic heart rhythm and then seeing this series of pictures of spider's webs after a variety of drugs - caffeine causing the most abnormalities.

I will on have decaf tea and the occasional decaf latte or decaf soda - if only they could take the caffeine out of chocolate!

Marty - I'm so glad that you're feeling better!!!

Posted 5/1/2008 8:22 PM (GMT 0)
Hey buddy, good to hear you are doing so well. I too made the decision to stop eating processed foods and eat as many whole foods as possible. I've cut the sugar down to a minimum, and you are right, I'm feeling better than ever. I can't say I've cut out my coffee but just eating good food has made me feel a whole lot better. You'll have to give us an update on Bethy-boo too. Oh, and how about that CD? :-) Love ya' guy. Take care.

Posted 5/1/2008 9:37 PM (GMT 0)
Ok Carol here is the update on Beth.The neurologists met 2 weeks ago to discuss their findings on all tests that they have performed.They have discovered atrophy in the occipital part of her brain that was not present 9 months ago when last mri was done.The occipipital part of the brain is the part of the brain used for for processing visual information,breathing,heartrate,blood pressure and swallowing.This is in addition to the massive trauma her little brain suffered after her massive heartfailure. They also are concerned about dilated ventricles within the brain caused by pressure.
The head neurologist asked us for more time to see what the nest step should be. Its been really tough few months but we're getting through it. She is actually quite sick again today.We were in hospital this morning for 3 hours as she was having respiratory problems.They also believe she may have contracted a virus caled the roto or roti virus.Nasty viral bug doing the rounds. But they know i'm capable of caring for her so they sent me home with the meds to deal with her at home.Hopefully this little virus clears up and the neuros don't keep us waiting much longer for the results.
Beth has also been nominated for The Children Of Courage award.The event will occur on 12th June and all the local media will be there.She'll be soooooooooooo famous.She's such an inspiration to so many people.


I'm hoping to get into the stdio in August to finish last 4 songs and get album out into shops.I can't wait!! I'm sure you all understand that it was really hard for me to be be here this past few months, but i'm always thinking of you all.
Marty
Posted 5/1/2008 9:59 PM (GMT 0)
I have cut back on a lot of unhealthy foods as well and have noticed a difference in my mood, energy and colitis! I really believe you are what you eat. I am drinking raw green smoothies currently trying to follow Paul Nison's book "Healing Inflammatory Bowel Disease" and am doing pretty good. Hopefully things continue to improve.

Posted 5/1/2008 10:17 PM (GMT 0)
Wow Marty; you and your family are true inspirations. If you are able to get us a link to Beth's Day of receiving her "Courage of Children" award, that would be great. I'd love to see it~she's definitely an inspiration to me! Amazing little girl. I also can't wait to hear your CD; my boyfriend and I are anxiously awaiting it. He's a music kind of guy and we have quite a selection of interesting artists. He's really made me into a music kind of a gal! Keep up the good work my friend. You are awesome. (((Hug, hug)))

Can Man; I can even pass things up now that I couldn't before just knowing that it won't make me feel good in the long run. So cheers to you too!

Posted 5/2/2008 12:06 AM (GMT 0)
Yes, the foods you've listed all sound like part of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, provided "vegetables" doesn't include starchy things like potatoes and corn.

Since this is working so well for you, I'd advise you to try cutting out the salads and raw veggies and go with cooked veggies to give your colon a chance to heal. You'll be able to add raw stuff back in when you're no longer flaring.

You might also check out l-glutamine and aloe for gut healing and probiotics to restore balance, if you haven't already. These things will compliment your new diet. Glad to hear you're feeling better!

Posted 5/2/2008 7:00 AM (GMT 0)
all my vegeatables are cooked, probably over cooked.I couldn't eat raw vegetables.I don't eat onions cos they make ill,i do eat potatos.I could never give up potatos..i'm Irish after all.:)
Posted 5/2/2008 11:08 AM (GMT 0)
Hmmm you can't give up the potatoes? What about the Ale? :) I'm so glad you are feeling better Marty even though you're still flaring. I noticed too that a few years ago I decided to make a dietary change that I started feeling better. I am not restricting myself of the things I love, it's more of knowing now what I can't tolerate.

I would also like a link to Beth's Children of Courage Award if there is one. So maybe you can post it on here so we all can see the brave girl herself! There are some parents out there that would've gave up on their child if they were in the state that Beth is in. But not you and your wife - that is an inspiration in itself. You two are awesome parents and even though Beth may not totally be aware of things - I KNOW she knows this too. I think that is one reason she is doing as well as she is - because of her great parents by her side. I will be sending many prayers and thoughts to Beth and hope she overcomes this recent respitory problem.
Posted 5/2/2008 12:03 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the updates Marty! And big congrats to your little Beth! What a strong little girl you have!!!
Posted 5/2/2008 5:35 PM (GMT 0)

fatboyslim said...
all my vegeatables are cooked, probably over cooked.I couldn't eat raw vegetables.I don't eat onions cos they make ill,i do eat potatos.I could never give up potatos..i'm Irish after all.:)

Yet you said you eat salads?
Posted 5/2/2008 9:27 PM (GMT 0)
well apart from salads of course.
Posted 5/3/2008 7:08 AM (GMT 0)
So I'm hoping to get a little better understanding of your experiences with diet. Each time I raise the topic with my doctor he says that diet isn't something that really will affect my ulcerative colitis. Now diet hasn't been something that seems to trigger my UC - caffeine, spicy foods, processed foods, alcohol, etc - none of them seem to affect my UC. The symptoms seem there no matter what. And the symptoms are consistent (loose, bloody stool ~10x/day). I'm willing to try anything, since the drugs only do so much, but I feel a little silly regulating my own diet since I really don't know what I'm trying to do or what will work. Should I start "testing" myself... stop caffeine for a couple weeks? stop certain foods? There are so many sources of information on diet out there I don't know which to really trust.
Posted 5/3/2008 1:03 PM (GMT 0)
CBusTaylor-

You are right. It seems so ambiguous and vague, this diet thing. I had always suspected diet had something to do with my UC symptoms because I noticed that after eating certain foods, for instance, bread, onions, or processed sugar, I felt worse. My doctor told me it was coincidence and if it bothered me, just stop eating it. He claimed that food couldn't affect my UC. I always wondered about that. Why then did some people have allergic reactions to food, or when you drink alcohol it altered your body/mind? Food can and does affect our bodies. I tried to eliminate certain foods for awhile, and didn't really get anywhere with improvement. I later learned that UC symptoms, as well as other health problems we may have, can have a fungal etiology. Basically, there can be a fungal/yeast overgrowth in ones' body, maybe initiated through a treatment of antibiotics, birth control pills, steroids, living/working in a moldy environment, etc. Fungus can be systemic. It can burrow through our intestinal walls, twist and alter DNA strands in our cells, cause inflammation, high cholesterol, to name a few.

So, how does one know what kind of diet to try if there is any hope out there at all of improving UC symptoms? Well, after learning about fungus and reading of others who were helped with UC symptoms by following an anti-fungal diet, I experimented with it, even when my doctors told me not to bother...it wouldn't have any affect. The diet fatboyslim referred to is similar to that. Eliminate all the fungus feeding and fungus containing foods for awhile...grains, processed sugar, yeast. As well, the SCD has similar characteristics.

Will it help you? No one can answer that. Many have been helped following such a diet. Others claim food elimination has no affect. I don't believe that foods "caused" my UC symptoms, but I do believe that certain foods (grains/sugar) fed the fungus that was brewing inside of me for years, and caused the systemic problem. After 2 weeks of strict elimination, and taking natural antifungals, I was significantly better, and eventually all my symptoms disappeared. My doctors take on it, all coincidence. They just don't know, or learn about fungus in medical school. I am still well. I know for me it was a fungal problem. I know now what foods to limit or eat in moderation. The only way you will find out for yourself, is to experiment with such a program. If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten............ Hope this helps a little.
Posted 5/3/2008 5:12 PM (GMT 0)
Actually researchers have not completely ruled out food as a possible trigger for IBD and I find it very frustrating when all these docs tell their patients to eat what they want, they could at least tell patients to keep a food journal to discover what might affect THEM in a negative way...

Read this link about IBD and research....it's from the CCFC...you'll find this info in the link...Triggers/ Environment

VIEW IMAGE Disease is not 100% genetic so it requires a trigger
VIEW IMAGE Many theories and investigations into the role of microbes
VIEW IMAGEOther factors could contribute: food, environment etc.

And more...

http://www.ccfc.ca/English/research/todaysresearch.html

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