Fast Track Diet/ Digestive Health Institute

We too have started this eating plan and doing calculations as needed. How are you all doing with it, Sunbeam, Rockhopper,Dude.

A question please,-- which list of Glycemic Index are you using as I see different figures on different web sites. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

Rockhopper. Thanks.

@PatFill: I'm actually not doing the Fast Track. I did download the book, but have not started it yet. I'm merely doing a revised SouthBeach that sounds similar. I'm staying away from starchy foods and eating mostly complex carbs... green and leafy veggies. I'll eat a regular meat portion: chicken, turkey, beef, sadly, not enough fish, and very little pork. I find pork to be the worst of the meats for my GERD or whatever it is.

I did mention in another thread I started, but not here, that I've been trying an alternative to statins because my cholesterol came back slightly elevated at my last physical and alternatives to Protonix for GERD. I think I've found sort of a symbiotic relationship between the cholesterol program and the GERD.

As I read about GERD, pretty extensively, I found something that I had always suspected, some GERD treatments are based on anti-histamines. I had noticed in my early 20's that my indigestion got better during allergy season. When I mentioned this to my GP, he always responded, "Interesting." Real helpful, huh?! Anyway, I started taking Oil of Oregano, upon stopping Protonix, suspecting from symptoms that I might have h-pylori and after my physical, I started 4-5 grams of Vitamin C and Lysine spread out thru-out the day for the cholesterol.

My symptoms of GERD have virtually disappeared. This is after 15 plus years of struggling with it and 6 plus years on Protonix. Thru additional reading I've found that Vitamin C is actually a powerful antihistamine. So I think that it is largely responsible for my GERD "remission." However, I did see good improvement with my initial Oil of Oregano treatment. I'm still using it, but I think I'm going to phase it out a little to see what the Vitamin C and Lysine do on their own.

I will say this, and if I can find the link I'll post it: there was a study done where they looked at Lysine deficiency. Apparently, they concluded that a deficiency can lead to a weakening of the oesophageal sphincter. This, of course, is the sphincter that, if not closed properly or weakly, leads to acid reflux. My suspicion is that the Vitamin C acted as an antihistamine and that the additional Lysine in my body has been utilized to help that sphincter muscle perform properly. I don't know the exact answer, but I am now nearing 6 weeks off Protonix and basically symptom free. I couldn't be happier.

I'd be interested to know if anyone tries what I've done.


Edit: (link added)

www.longecity.org/forum/topic/26591-probiotics-and-digestive-enzymes-for-gerd/

The second post in the thread is what started my breadcrumb trail on L-lysine and GERD. You can do your own by googling L-lysine + GERD...

Post Edited (dude1969) : 1/3/2013 10:39:53 AM (GMT-7)

Sunbeam,

How long were you on Fast Tract before you reduced your acid meds to Tums only?

Bump. Keep it going. Don't want to lose this topic since we are eating Fast Tract

Hello Sunbeam. I've finished reading the book, created a list of the foods that I like from his Appendix, with FP amounts. Working on the calculation part with some other foods. Had to get grand-son to explain It to me. Still looking for a decent GI list to use as after checking several -- they show different GI values for same food. Also discovered the difference between Total and Net Carbs. It has a learning curve. It's hard to give up the high FP beans and don't need to drop any weight. Sooooo hard to give up so much, but giving it a good try. Your meals of yesterday sound really good.

Do you feel it has been helping you. Was Dr Norm helpful. Was he generous with his time. Does he charge. This s all new to me. Oh, I got organic Jasmine rice. So different from my brown Basmati rice. What else have you been cooking. Had very large salad tonight. It'll take me a while . Had no sugar either. Changing gradually. Keep in touch. Thanks.

Rock,I just ordered the book, Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes from Amazon. It was referenced on the DHI page. I expect it will have a lot to say about low carb eating.

Pat, I found Dr. Norm helpful, but I have not seen a reduction in my constant belching, as he hoped I would. This is what pushes my stomach acid up into my esophagus. But I am just taking 2-3 TUMS per day, instead of Zantec, so less medication is always good.

I am hesitant to post rates, you can contact his secretary at [email protected]. After your first consult he would ask you to keep a daily food log with description of your symptoms.

I will try to go through my food log and post some more things I was eating before we went away for Christmas. I plan to generally keep eating this way, I believe it is the best thing for my GERD and will prevent me having to go back on a PPI, or not for very long, when my GERD does "act up" (I think inevitably it will). I am enjoying the food on this diet because I was on the Koufman diet for more than a year. Now I can eat fat, it tastes good and I am not gaining weight. My weight is good, I don't want to gain or lose.

Post Edited (sunbeam48) : 1/5/2013 12:59:19 PM (GMT-7)

I love my Kindle, but I am also frugal so I ordered Why We Get Fat on paper along with some additional winter reading. Used books on Amazon are quite a bargain, and the pile of books behind my reading chair is large.

My exercise is swimming, which I do early a.m. so there is nothing in my stomach; walking and biking are fine. But gardening is my passion, and it is not a good match for GERD. I hate the idea of surgery for GERD, certainly not without trying everything else. Unless I solve the problem of my gas/ belching, I don't think it would be an improvement for me, just different problems.

Post Edited (sunbeam48) : 1/5/2013 2:22:17 PM (GMT-7)

Dude. I've been reading up on the Vitamin C and also lysine.
Your Vit C being antihistamine is VERY interesting.

I've been taking Red Yeast Rice for several years now. My total cholesterol runs at 180 and has been down to 150. The doc is happy with this. I buy at the corner drugstore and watch for the buy one, get one deals. Have had no symptoms from them and the doc said it was a mild statin.

Are you still off Protonix? Symptoms?

Just checking in... I am following the Fast Tract too.

I was following paleo and then a low carb paleo. After a couple of months following paleo I was able to get off Parriet. Thanks to Rockhopper I got the Fast Track book and find it very helpful in explaining why the paleo diet helped my reflux. I also helped me avoid pitfalls that I encounter when I eat fruit and some starchy veggies.

One of the difficulties I was having on paleo was finding the right veggies to give me some carbs. Every couple of weeks I would break down and eat squash or yams and get a bit of reflux. Now armed with Fast Track I ate a small bit of jasmine rice tonight and so far so good. My first taste of rice in 10+ months!

I really appreciate the book and the formula. I will be keeping my eye on this thread and hope to share experiences.

Post Edited (robray) : 1/5/2013 11:27:20 PM (GMT-7)

Dude. Thanks. Reading up on topic.

@rockhopper: I take 5-8 grams of Vitamin C/ day and 3-4 grams of L-lysine/day. I've backed off the L-lysine a bit because I was getting constipated. I think that it is more a function of the poor quality of the supplement rather than the L-lysine itself. My wife likes to by store brands, but we have had problems in the past with Target brands not agreeing with us... So I'd recommend using an actual vitamin brand rather than store brand. I'll let you know. I'm over the stomach bug, or getting over it, so I'm starting up the regimen today.

I get the Vitamin C through the use of Emergen-C. I drink 3-4/ day and they have 1000mg (1gram) per serving. I take 3 or 4 1000 mg Nature's Way Vitamin C's. And the Nature Made 1000mg of L-lysine was the brand I had been using before the Target brand. I won't be using the Target brand anymore. I also take 3 drops of Oil of Oregano 3 times per day under the tongue and wash it down with water or whatever I happen to be drinking.

www.ana-jana.org/

The above link is excellent. You have to join, but it's free. I tend to gravitate to these types of sites because the findings are research based, rather than anecdotal. You can search by "disease: once you've joined.

@Bruce: While it would be unlikely to be "deficient" in L-lysine, it is certainly not impossible. A criticism of PPI's is that due to the reduced stomach acid, food is not properly digested... meaning, of course, that essential nutrients merely pass thru one's digestive tract either un- or underutilized. So to make a blanket statement like, "impossible" is irresponsible. "Unlikely" might be a better term... But to say that it would be unlikely that we'd be deficient in other nutrients, given findings such as those about Americans being deficient in Vitamin D and certain B Vitamins, might be equally as irresponsible. Perhaps: "possible."

As for Vitamin C, there are no studies that have been confirmed about stones or calcium deposits that I've found in my extensive reading. In fact, the studies where those reactions were found have been debunked. And I'd like to know where the "recognized upper safety limit of Vitamin C being 2 Grams" statement comes from because I have certainly read NO source that identifies any limit to Vitamin C. The RDA is only at a level to prevent diseases that result from deficiency like scurvy and is far below the 2 gram limit you raise. A simple search of the internet shows that there are millions of people taking larger doses than 2 grams of Vitamin C with no ill effects... other than diarrhea, which is the most common side effect of too much Vitamin C.

The problem with supplements, and you are correct here to a small extent, is that the efficacy of these "mega-doses" is rarely established. Such is not the case with FDA approved meds. These substances are tested to tolerance so that ill affects can be avoided. Not true of supplements. In fact, therapeutic doses of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other supplements are almost never established. Here is where a journal such as the one I linked can be somewhat beneficial as a guide.

Take it for what you will.

I'm not a "paid poster" either. I hope this doesn't become a debate about supplements, as I already feel that my last several posts are out of the scope of the original thread. Perhaps, I should start a new thread or someone else might. These are just my observations and my personal experiences with the regimen I'm using with great success.