Someone to test my theory

Hi again all, last week i posted for the first time about my experience and how i became well again, it was brief but it seems as though no one has realy replied and this to me is a concern because when i was unwell i would have eaten anything or followed anyones advice in the hope that it would put me right

I do appreciate that we all do what we want and no-one has a wholy grail and sometimes we can have our dreams shatterd.

So here is the punchline,

all I ask is for someone to test my pineapple theory out, the advice is free and my only gain is to see anyone with UC well again, thats it and dont forget, I too have sufferd in a chronic state and bled nearly every day for 5 years so I'm not just some crazy person on the rant !!

OK for anyone interested,

 A fresh pineapple, cut the bottom and top off and cut the prickly outer skin off, cut into 4 segments starting from the middle so you have 4 wedge shaped pieces, then cut, from the thin part of the wedge and all the way down, about 10 mm in so you take out the stalk that runs through the middle (this is oo stringy and tuff) and thats it prepped, if you know how to do this then sorry for the ramble.

After every meal, have a piece of one of the 4 pieces,(if you have 3 meals, 4, 5 etc.. chop the piece into enough to stretch each meal)

All i ask is to post on how it helps or not,

Just a little background, pineapple has a proteolactic enzyme that breaks down protein, and my theory is that we seem to lack this in some way, (I may be wrong and probably am) it also contains minerals so is good for dihorrea because it helps to replace the nutrients lost in this process, it is gentle on the stomach unlike orange, lemons,grapefruit, (these bring on digestive acid hence heartburn acid reflux)

So there you have it,

one other thing, please dont  scoff me or make fun of this, if its not for you then ok, please dont put anyone off trying it, pineapple is a  natural fruit so it should be ok  to eat, you may not like but hey, who likes medication,  but if you are not sure then ALWAYS ask advice !!!

ROB

Edit,

if you are willing to test this then please post

also any  constructive view would be appreciared and i will do my best to answer any question,

  

Post Edited (bobbit) : 1/14/2009 4:25:09 PM (GMT-7)

Pineapple is a natural digestive enzyme along with kiwi, papaya and mangos and works best when eaten after each meal, I eat all those fruits on a regular basis with no issues, some people cannot tolerate eating any of those fruits so a supplement form of digestive enzymes usually helps, it's less work for the colon to break foods down when consuming those fruits or supplements after each meal.

:)

I tried pineapple and papaya pieces a bit before meals some years back and it made me worse- probably the sugar- fructose- though the enzyme supplements have also generally made me worse. In general, sugars- even the modest amounts in sauces used in many restaurnt foods- flare me up so I avoid them like the plague. Not sure in the case of the enzyme supplements whether it was the fillers or the enzymes themselves, but enzymes definitely do not seem to help treat my UC in any way. However, some have reported benefits from enzymes and it is certainly worth a try.

this is interesting.  I have been following the spinach/seed diet and have done really well on it.  It really has me interested in diet and nutrition and the way foods affect my body.  I have tried to decrease pro-inflammatory foods(white breads, white grains, vege oils, refined sugars) and increase anti-inflammatory foods.  Pineapple is definetly listed as an anti-inflammatory food so I will add it to my diet.
I'm curious, bobbit, did you try this and find it helped you?  Are you saying the pineapple should be eaten with meals.  I prefer to eat fruits as snacks between meals, but would change that if it soemhow helps to eat it with other foods. 

I'll try it Bobbit. I posted awhile back after I came back from a business trip in Dallas end of Sep. 2007 that I thought pineapple helped me come off prednisone without any problems. I ate pineapple everyday for breakfast with honeydew and cakes and had probalby the easiest transition from getting totally off prednisone. Since that was a huge accomplishment I was all siked about pineapple. Since then i buy them occasionally. I actually baught one 2 days ago so I'll eat it with my meals instead of in the morning on an empty stomach. Thanks for the suggestion. Good luck with your ideas. I actually thought pineapple was a anti-septic but don't quote me on that I just thought...

Thank you all for the little bit of debate. Before i became ill i was heavily into keep fit and weight traing,because of my hobbies i was always looking at my diet and learned from many books and magazines about protein.To digest protein you have to have all the amino acids present to digest/get the maximum absorbtion out of it and these are very hard to come by all at once, however, its normaly dairy products that contain all the nessesary amino's but this can be a problem in its own.
This brings me to protein,esential for repairing tissue, as bodybuilders know that after a heavy session they are effectivly tearing muscle and need protein to help restore the damaged tissue, rather like a bridge that is knocked down and as the gap widens the bridge has to be widened to bridge the gap so doing this on a regular basis the gap widens and so does the bridge, a basic idea of how muscle builds (silly you may say but do you get the picture)
Steroids quicken this process up hence the reason why we are prescribed them and bobybuilders and atheletes use them, a little more to it i know but the genarel idea is the quickening process.
So why all this ?
Well i may be wrong but it is my opinion that we do not digest protein,our stomach seems to push it through our system, the bowel/colon does the same, it seems to just want it out and it seems at whatever cost (this is my own personal opinion) so this is where the problem starts, a friend of mine suffers from a reaction when he drinks cocacola, his face swells severly, so with this in mind, could the bowel do the same, if so, why not the whole body ? i dont know, all i know is that my friends face is targeted so in our case it could just be the bowel.
Enough of the ramble, and thank you anyone willing to try this, the only problem that springs to mind is if we take pineapple to aid the protein absorbtion, were do we get the protein, well at the moment i am having prawns, one of the best forms,filterd milk (cravendale, but not reccomended for sufferers at the moment) fish is another but probably the best one is chicken so this one i will leave to the individual, but as in all cases do things gradually as the system can easily be shocked and also in some cases you may find you get bound up inside so take it slowly, you could throw in about 4 or 5 grapes to loosen the system up, avoid ALL citrus fruits, make pineapple the only fruit, with the exception of a few grapes
I dare say there are more contributing factors in our diets like sugar etc.. but most will have an idea as to what brings on their syptoms more severly so avoiding these would go without saying

At mealtimes have your bit of pineapple directly before or after your food, if you do need a few grapes then take theses at the same time (dont forget any medication)
please post on how things are going
ROB

By the way this way of eating is not just based on eating protein but on regular meals as you would normally have, the foods you eat will contain some protein but the best forms are mentioned

quincy said...
Remember that the enzymes would work in the stomach and small intestine..not really in the colon. The point is to have things broken down before it gets into the colon...and hopefully have less discomfort symptoms, gas, pain, cramping..etc from certain foods.

q

It's still less work for the GI tract and any benefit is a good one, plus fruit is healthy chock full of vitamins and minerals and IBDers need all the help they can get.

:)

We are prescribed corticosteroids not anabolic steroids. There is a huge difference. Corticos like pred are used for the regulation of inflammation while anabolics alter hormonal balances to achieve greater protein synthesis.

Humans can digest protein. There are proteolytic enzymes produced by the digestive system that can adequately handle the process within reason. A 5 gram hunk of poorly-chewed steak will have more trouble digesting than a 5 gram whey protein shake due to less stress on the digestive process. I don't want to get into substrate attachment and surface area in regards to enzymatic action but we will just say the steak will most often pass into the intestines partially broken down and provide a substrate on which good and bad bacteria can ferment. This can cause a whole host of problems. It goes back to its not how much or what you eat, but what you absorb and are able to digest.

I agree with what you are saying and also believe that digestive enzymes in any form (pills or fruit) can greatly enhance digestion in those of us with digestive issues whether flaring or in remission. This, in conjuntion with probiotic supplementation to "stack the deck" when fermenting the undigested food waste that makes it to the colon creates a favorable environment concerning digestion.

I am glad you are open-minded in the battle against this disease. Much good has come from those like you who look outside of the box. My grandmother used to say "don't put all your eggs in one basket" and don't rely on pineapple to be the secret weapon in the fight against digestive disorders. Its a tad more complicated than just protein intolerance.

I'm not too clear on your coca cola example.

I have always used Source Naturals brand Essential Enzymes. www.sourcenaturals.com -if you want to read up on them too.

The enzymedica product info looks good. I concentrate on 3 major enzymes: protease, lactase, and cellulase. The other enzymes are bonuses but these three are the most important for me.

1995 scared freshman in college dx'd w/ severe LS colitis. Allergic to mesalamine and minimal response to pred. Forced to tackle UC with unorthodox methods, my brain, and my family's support.
My GI was a d**k. No help there. I thought my mom was going to slap him around.

Majored in biology with emphasis in biochem so wasn't hard to get knowledge about anatomy, physiology and what I could do to sidewalk around conventional medicine. As far as I was concerned, at the time, the docs didn't know a whole lot about UC either so we were on equal ground. No cause, no cure. Spooky.
Over 14 years I have taken myself from 8-10 long massive bloody flares (short incomplete remissions) a year to 1-2 minimal blood. Remission quality is near pre-UC now. It got really hairy sometimes in the past and I am thankful to still be here. No real secret to it just hard work, thirst for knowledge, observation, will to live. Throw in a little luck and some youth and there it is.

Things I consider essential: Food diary, digestive enzymes, anti-inflammatory diet foods, fiber supplement, probiotics, recognize and address early flare signs, hi-digest comfort foods, omega 3s, essential amino acids, exercise, antifungals, reduce refined carb foods, protein shakes, vitamins and minerals.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

i will try this.... theres lots of pineapple here in our country...theres no harm to try.. its just a fruit...

I eat pineapple a lot but never tried it after every meal, but I will sense it is my favorite.

Generally i cut up a whole one and cut it into four pieces, then one piece is divided up by how many meals you have, normaly around 3-4, you have to cut out the stalk that runs through the middle as this is rough and chewy,(check out the origonal post if you are not sure how to cut it up) also stay off citrus fruits and juices and as i have said stay with your medication. Please be honest with any results, good or bad
ROB