modified diet attempt

First of all, thanks to everyone who gave me encouragement from my post the other day.

After reading kasbern's success with gluten free (even if it was Crohn's), I am going to go all out for the next couple of weeks since I am on vacation and can cook more for myself. I figured at this point, it is worth a try. I also will stick to my usual dairy free and see what happens. Does anyone have any advice for making sure I'm not accidentally taking in gluten - I know it can sneak into things that you wouldn't think? Also, any suggestions for gluten free dairy free recipes that are good? Finally, any brands of GOOD tasting gluten-free brands? I know some of them can taste pretty yucky.

I should mention that I always toast any gluten free breads. Otherwise, they don't taste very good.

What kinds of food do you like? My diet is gluten-free, dairy-free and grain-free so I like recipes with interesting tastes and textures. Guacamole, for example, yum. I eat it with carrot sticks or pork rinds.

Barbeque anything is always good although I prefer to make my own BBQ sauce so I know what's in it. A little honey, lemon, garlic to start and then you can go in different directions: add soy for an oriental taste, add a little tomato paste for classic BBQ, add coconut milk/cream with spices for a curry taste.

Jello with fruit would be a good dessert.

I'm into nuts so make a lot of things with almond flour: biscotti, carrot cake, almond cookies, waffles, pancakes (having pancakes bacon and eggs for dinner tonight haha.)

Eggs are also very versatile. Look for a cookbook in your library devoted to ingredients you like. Chicken for example has many cookbooks. And there are cookbooks for gluten-free dairy-free too.

There are lots of things to eat! Have fun.

PostModern, I'm tickled that my experiment inspired you - I wanted to post to say that I was so excited at first about making this change that I really didn't want to eat any breads or cakes or cookies. One dessert I do take advantage of is Kozy Shack pudding, but they are not dairy-free.

There's a brand of dairy-free baked desserts that we've enjoyed - Katz's. My husband found it at whole foods in the freezer section. I do like Mary's Crackers and I've been eating Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free oat meal every morning (I don't like corn flakes or rice cereal).

Good luck to you. I think a 2 week shot is probably the minimum for seeing results from going gluten free and I wish you the best.

I've had about 3 weeks on a new diet, and it seems very helpful, although I am a bit up and down. I did a food intolerances test which was based on them drawing a load of blood. One of the things that was interesting in there was the things I have severe to mild intolerances of that I ate a lot of - including olives, oregano and basil (so that's italian food out).

It's easier to describe what I can eat with this diet: brown rice, milk, eggs, any meat or fish that I want, any vegetables, nuts and that's about it.

Breakfast is usually eggs. Snacks are rice cakes with nut butters or sliced turkey, or corn chips with mashed avocado. Lunch is a salad with grilled chicken or shrimp usually. Dinner is steaks or fish or chicken with grilled or roasted vegetables mainly. Drinks are water and herbal tea. And I'm allowed low-sugar alcohols like vodka and tequila. It's not that bad really.

I also take a load of vitamins the doctor gave me.

Within 24 hours I was down from about 7 bathroom trips per day to 2 in the morning only, but then I went backwards a bit. I've just realised that it might have been the protein shakes I added setting me back, so I cut them out and I seem to be reverting to twice in the morning only.

The diet sounds extreme, but it's not that bad and it has all sorts of other health advantages (I am looking pretty good if I say so myself - body fat down from 22% to 16% according to the funny scales I have - while weight has gone done some but nothing drastic - about 3 lbs down).

What I've found is that with UC it's hard to have a 'trusting' relationship with food. I know many people even skip meals to avoid urgency or frequency, which is about as mistrustful of food you can be. The advantage of restricted diets, if they work for you, is that you can eat without fear of the consequences. I was hungry when I got back the other day and ate a whole chicken and a couple of packs of vegetables (and very nice it was too). No bad effects at all - whereas before I would have been nervous about eating heavily because of the consequences.

On balance, for someone with UC, a restricted diet you trust is actually going to be easier than an unrestricted diet you don't. I suspect. At least, that's how it is for me.

Happy to give more details if anyone wants. I did this because the next step was Pred or 6MP, and it's been the most effective thing I've tried. Instead of looking at the next steps up meds-wise, I'm looking to cut down now.

And just to reassure Quincy - yes, I am still sticking things up my bottom for now. It's not replacing meds at this point. But I wouldn't rule out that it might later on.

Who did you get for the blood test for food intolerance? Is that reliable because I know the scratch test which I did for allergies on my back showed a bunch of stuff but isn't always completely reliable unless something is severe.

Also, I'm doing alright so far. I've been a bit hungry but been trying to eat alot and have to take a trip to whole foods tomorrow to get some of the suggestions above because I dont really have have any snack foods right now.

And any way to tell if rice dream vanilla flavored is gluten free. Ingredients: filtered water, brown rice (partially milled), expeller pressed high oleic safflower oil, tricalcium phosphate, natural vanilla flavor with other natural flavors, sea salt, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, vitamin B12. It's the natural flavors that makes me wonder because I think I read sometimes that can include gluten. But at least I'm doing the best I can.

Post Edited (ThePostmodernIrony) : 7/10/2011 8:02:57 PM (GMT-6)

On a lot of company websites these days, they state if their products are gluten free or not, so try that checking that as well.

So I had a rough morning and have debated giving up on this, but I feel like I have to tough it out because I know it can't work instantly. Just don't know what messed me up this morning but I had cramping and the like. thanks everyone again for your support.

I think I know what it was, but still it seems overwhelming because it could be a number of things.