Still in Remission from Spinach/Sunflower Seeds 3 Years Later

helps a lot. thank you.

don't ya just love it ! your healing foods are my gut killing foods !

"So I quickly switched to cooked spinach and Sunbutter. I ate the cooked spinach with either white rice, pasta or bread to soften the effect it had on my colon (those foods acted like a buffer). Also, when you eat cooked spinach and Sunbutter (instead of raw spinach and seeds), you're able to eat more of these foods as they as more concentrated. "

So, Soystud, how do you explain this. You've mentioned before numerous times that grains aren't good and even given the advice to stop eating rice. Yet, we see right here, something quite the contrary.

I keep seeing the spinach being undigested along with the seeds. Is it a reason to worry? I make sure I don't take my medicine at the same time I'm eating the spinach.

Kiss, have you had pain still for some time after the symptoms like bleeding, mucus etc subsided?

"Can you have Sunbutter instead of seeds? Or, if you're trying to avoid sugar"

Maranatha brand = no sugar

I think spinach does have a laxative effect. When I pass the spinach, it not that well formed, while my other BM's are. I tend to eat spinach by itself. If it was mixed in with other foods, it probably would have less of a laxative effect.

I've "tapered" down to 1/3 can daily with no sunflower seeds at all. Still doing great. I've been completely off Pred for almost a week with no problems. The only other med I am taking is mesalamine (tabs and rectals). I also use garden of life super seed mix as a chaser when I eat processed foods. I figure it adds the nutrients back that were stripped out during processing.

Andrina - I would go with soystud's suggestion and try the Maranatha brand, if you're looking to avoid sugar.  Eating seeds rather than seed butter could really prolong the healing process. 

Arguably, massive amounts of spinach could have worse side effects than mesalazine for those who are susceptible as goitrigens can suppress thyroid function. "Natural" foods also come with their own side effects. Similarly, mesalazine will have bad side effects for some, particularly those susceptible to the kidney disorder it can provoke. I'd suggest that anyone on a daily spinach diet has their thyroid monitored regularly.

Protocolteck - Glad to hear you're having such great results!  I hope you've found a treatment that will last. 

I have a thought about why the Spinach / Sunflower seed diet might help, and it relates to some other threads/news I've seen recently.

First, Zinc. Deficiency seems increase gut barrier permeability (some NIH article titles):
Zinc deficiency induces dysregulation of cytokine productions in an experimental colitis of rats.
Zinc supplementation tightens "leaky gut" in Crohn's disease.
Zinc supplementation modifies tight junctions and alters barrier function of CACO-2 human intestinal epithelial layers.

Both spinach and sunflower seeds are relatively high in zinc. Maybe in UC, the Zinc receptors are downregulated like they are for vitamin D and we need more than most people?

Next, something called Phosphatidylcholine.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23585269
Mucosal protection by phosphatidylcholine as new therapeutic concept in ulcerative colitis.

"In ulcerative colitis (UC) the mucus PC content is reduced by 70 % irrespective of the state of inflammation. Thus, it could represent an intrinsic primary pathogenetic condition predisposing to bacterial invasion and precipitation of inflammation. Since PC was shown to be mainly secreted by the ileal mucosa from where it is assumed to move distally to the colon, the PC content along the colonic wall towards the rectum gradually thins out with lowest PC content in the rectum. It explains the start of the clinical manifestation of UC in the rectum and expansion from there to the upper parts of the colon. When the lacking mucus PC in the UC was supplemented by an oral, delayed released PC preparation, it was shown in three clinical trials that the inflammation improved and even resolved."

Eggs and soybeans are the best source of choline, followed by meat (particularly liver), seeds, and nuts. As it turns out, Phosphatidylcholine is a purified extract of lecithin, and besides soy and eggs, another source of lecithin (that they sell in supplements) is sunflower seeds.

On the waiting-for-a-wonder-drug-potentially-false-hope front, this press release came out 4/10/13: Lipid Therapeutics announces today that it has successfully filed its first US IND for LT-02 and is now in a position to proceed with a planned Phase III trial in the US in mild-moderate ulcerative colitis patients... LT-02 is a first-in-class highly purified phosphatidylcholine targeted to improve the barrier function in the colon through a proprietary delayed release formulation."

I wonder if this whole concept works with sweet potatoes too? Since they're high in beta-carotene too. They have even more than Spinach.

I think the sweet potatoes are in addition to spinach.  The initial belief was this diet worked because of magnesuim from spinach and seeds and beta carotene from carrots or sweet potatoes.

When I first reached remission from this diet I just happened to be eating carrots for 4 days because of leftovers from a roast dinner and thought I would give the spinach/seeds a try.  It definetly worked for me.  Its been several years now and this remains the best way for me to maintain remission.