the maker's diet

Most people are not going to go into a UC remission by following a diet, no matter what kind of diet you are talking about. Sure, one drop in every bucket will claim to have gone into remission from some kind of diet but that is only one drop out of the bucket. That's why most doctors kind of laugh at the idea of diet putting you into remission. Having said that, UC damages the colon and this damage can cause dietary problems and by following certain diets (everyone is different) many can greatly improve their UC symptoms but since this effect is the result of UC and not the cause, most people will never achieve remission simply by following a diet, any diet. In most cases diet did not cause our UC so it is not going to be the cure for it either.

Consider me another drop. Long story short...I had UC symptoms for 12 years. Did my own research as I was sick and tired of being sick and tired and didn't want to be on prescription drugs the rest of my life, just to cover the symptoms. After awhile, the meds I was taking didn't seem to do their thing. I discovered that fungus can have a link to IBD, like UC. In my mind, I realized I was a good candidate...had taken antibiotics as a teen, took BC pills for many years, lived in water damaged house (some mold actually grew along basement floorboards) and I used to eat (be addicted to) a lot of bread and other starchy foods. So, I experimented with an antifungal diet (eliminating all grains, sugars, including artificial sugars, processed foods) for a time and my symptoms eventually disappeared. That was 7 years ago. No meds now or recurring symptoms. I am now GF and still don't eat much of processed foods. Whole, natural foods are the way to go!

If you feel you could be helped by following such a diet, it doesn't hurt to experiment. No one was more surprised than I was when my symptoms went away, especially when all my doctors had told me that changing my diet would not make a difference. Even after I got well, my doctor insisted it was a coincidence and actually chastised me for "playing doctor". I wasn't the one with the medical degree on the wall, after all. (Yes, he said that.) It wasn't the food that gave me UC, but the foods I was eating were feeding the fungus in my body. Fungus loves and requires carbs and sugars...

You do what you feel is right for you. No one else can make that decision for you. It may not help,... but what if it does :) I agree with soystud. Be patient. And be prepared to feel worse before you feel better.

Here is the diet I followed:

Meats:
Beef, Fish, Poultry, Lamb, Turkey, Pork

Nuts:
Raw nuts, including pecans, almonds, walnuts, cashews, and pumpkin seeds.
No Peanuts and No Pistachio's

Vegetables:
Most fresh, unblemished vegetables and freshly made vegetable juice. (avoid mushrooms, corn, and potatoes)

Beverages:
Bottled or filtered water, non-fruity herbal teas, stevia sweetened fresh lemonade or limeade, freshly squeezed carrot juice.

Fruits:
Berries, grapefruit, lemon, lime, green apples, avocado, fresh coconut

Dairy:
Organic butter, organic plain yogurt, ( use the following very sparingly) cream cheese, unsweetened whipping cream, real sour cream

Eggs

Vinegar:
Apple cider vinegar

Oils:
Olive, grape, flax seed, cold pressed virgin coconut oil.

Sweeteners:
Stevia, Xylitol.

I also took natural antifungal supplements (olive leaf extract and rotated monthly with caprylic acid.) I don't think I would have been as successful without these. If fungus is the issue, some people may benefit more with prescription strength antifungals, (diflucan, nystatin) depending on the severity of the disease. I also took, and still take good probiotics. I knew i was onto something within a week of starting the program. I had a bad Herxheimer response (fungal toxin die-off) for 4-5 days.

This sounds identical to the Carb Specific Diet I just started - is it the same? 

I think the science of both diets is that they are both are low carb (sugar) and reduce or eliminate possible food allergens to give your gut a chance to heal from inflammation and microbial overgrowth, among other things.

Found this page which explains the science behind the SCD:

http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/p/science-behind-the-diet/

The diet I was on allowed my body to rid fungal overgrowth and eliminate possible food allergens, especially from grains like wheat.....similar, I guess.

My diet can be found on the website: www.knowthecause.com under the "Get Started" tab at the top.

I believe that there are certain individuals who will respond well to diet to the point of attaining remission and I wholeheartedly believe it is always worth a shot but I stick to my original belief, which the doctors seem to concur with, that in most cases (not all) diet will not put many into a remission all by itself. I am certainly extremely happy for those that are in that category. I find the RS diet very interesting.

garylouisville said...
I believe that there are certain individuals who will respond well to diet to the point of attaining remission and I wholeheartedly believe it is always worth a shot but I stick to my original belief, which the doctors seem to concur with, that in most cases (not all) diet will not put many into a remission all by itself. I am certainly extremely happy for those that are in that category. I find the RS diet very interesting.

" that in most cases (not all) diet will not put many into a remission"

Fair assessment. I used to be able to eat salmon only for seven days and the anti-inflammatory effect would halt a flare. However it is so fatty it just gets disgusting anymore.

The RS diet needs to be maintained because I found out once in trouble from a transit time going from 24 hours to 6 disallows the fermentation time needed. The resistant starch resists digestion, lands in the colon and ferments into butyrate ONLY given sufficient time.

So I agree once your flaring hard, it usually requires 'power tools' to right the ship. But by throwing in mebeverine,librax,immodium with pred I was able to slow the transit time again, add the navy beans back in and the course of pred has been blood free ever since.

My biggest issue is getting adrenals to wake up, dropping to zero then 15 late in the day this weekend resulted in major fatigue and headache - but no increase in inflammation no urgency and no blood.

Smuggling the navy beans into chili is a good way to go.

grass fed beef
lots of olive oil
lowrys chili powder ( loaded with vitamin a for controlling gut inflammation )
navy beans
chopped spinach, broccoli, cabbage cooked down
mix it all add cheddar if you want more vitamin a

in a pinch navy beans with butter is good, butter has some conversion to butyrate too.

aguywithuc said...
Studies show high protein diet thins mucosal lining while RS thickens and heals it.

This my experience also but it is the exact opposite of what the Paleo Police are pushing. I guess we need to find what works for us individually.

I learned about powdered psyllium seed on this forum several years ago (from TAP?) and more recently about Resistant Starch, (maybe from Old Mike). Both are very effective for me.

Post Edited (BabeintheWoods) : 7/9/2013 5:23:39 PM (GMT-6)

hey gary, maybe it would be helpful if you would respond in regards to you and your uc, instead of they, and and a few and not many - talk about your experiences and leave the theys and the mosts and to the actual theys and mosts -

BabeintheWoods said...

aguywithuc said...
Studies show high protein diet thins mucosal lining while RS thickens and heals it.

This my experience also but it is the exact opposite of what the Paleo Police are pushing. I guess we need to find what works for us individually.

I learned about powdered psyllium seed on this forum several years ago (from TAP?) and more recently about Resistant Starch, (maybe from Old Mike). Both are very effective for me.

That is great. I used to push seed powder heavily when I was on here years ago, it was not widely known about. I have recently been pushing RS, but stopped all the long research posts after I bought the man made RS, began baking and discovered my system did not like that at all. For me big winner is .89 cent cans of kruners navy beans. This go around I dont even get gassy.

So I have stopped the wheat grass ( gal who popularized it had UC claimed it maintained remission ) and seed powder because the Navy bean chili is so effective.

Do look at vitamin A from food sources, the Irish team recently showed it controlled immune gut inflammation.

People with UC do not absorb it well so look for best bioavailable sources ( chili has lots, cheddar cheese gets its color from it )

link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF03002293'

Scientists Uncover Protective Influence of Vitamin A against Inflammatory Bowel Disease

www.tcd.ie/Communications/news/pressreleases/pressRelease.php?headerid=3128&pressReleaseArchive=2013

Kingston Mills said...


Professor Kingston Mills’s research team at the School of Biochemistry and Immunology in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute have discovered that administration of retinoic acid, a dietary metabolite of Vitamin A, can protect mice against intestinal inflammation. Intestinal inflammation is caused by immune cells in the gut that release inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-17 in response to intestinal bacteria. Other anti-inflammatory cytokines, such IL-22 have the opposite effect of suppressing inflammation and inducing tissue repair. Postdoctoral Fellows Lisa Mielke, Sarah Jones and Mathilde Raverdeau, working in Professor Mills’s group have shown that retinoic acid turn on IL-22, and inhibits IL-17 from two immune cells types found in the intestine, called γδ T cells and innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). The net effect of this intervention is to reduce the damaging effect of the gut bacteria and to promote recovery of the damaged tissue in the intestine.

Commenting on the significance of the findings, Professor Mills said:

“Our finding provide valuable new information on the ‘ying and yang’ of the immune system and how its dysregulation can lead to inflammatory diseases, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. On a practical level it has confirmed the importance of Vitamin A-rich green and root vegetables in our diet, and how Vitamin A helps to promote a healthier gut by stimulating the production of protective molecules in a hostile gut environment.”

I eat the Navy bean chili with greens for these reasons and take it to work with me, eat it for dinner and sometimes a bit with eggs in the morning.