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Few-foods elimination diet

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Posted 7/22/2015 5:44 PM (GMT 0)
The Few-foods elimination diet described in "Dealing with Food Allergies" is said to be nutritionally inadequate, and therefore should not be used for more than 10 - 14 days, yet the reintroduction of suspect foods can take far longer. A vitamin & mineral supplement may help, but some contain suspect foods, like soy. Is the quantity of suspect food in vitamins low enough to ignore?

Given that I am still on omeprazole, I already have an issue with calcium and magnesium, as evidenced by toe cramps and sleep problems. A mineral supplement would help this.
Posted 7/22/2015 6:26 PM (GMT 0)
I should probably give some background.

Prior to 11/2014, I had nothing but occasional GERD, caused by predictably bad behavior, like eating too much, too fatty, or too late. I would usually just stay awake until my stomach emptied and sleep on a stack of pillows.
Last November, I had a GERD eruption that did not quit. I took DGL for a week (no effect), Prilosec OTC, dosage doubled by my PCP, doubled again by my GI back in mid-May. I've read "The Acid Reflux Solution" by Rodriguez, and implemented the 12 items he cites.

I started to taper off the omeprazole July 1, from 80mg/day to 60. The rebound was bad enough for me to go back to 80. July 7, I started tapering by removing one more pellet each day from the 40 mg capsules. Again, the rebound was a problem.

I started a few-foods elimination diet on July 13 and switched out the rice for squash on July 17. Two days later, felt like I had the flu and had a low fever. The fever was gone the next day and, as of today, I feel mostly better wrt to flu-like symptoms. With respect to the GERD, I notice less leakage past the LES, and far less acid. It seems that the PPIs suddenly work far better than they did before this diet, even at my current dose of 40 mg/day.

I refuse to believe that my LES magically stopped working overnight back in November. I also refuse to take PPIs long-term. It makes sense, as Rodriquez suggests, that food sensitivity plays a role.
Posted 7/22/2015 6:40 PM (GMT 0)
I'm not familiar with that book but I did want to chime in that food sensitivities and allergies definitely play a role. The first two weeks after my trip to the ER back in June I was eating only organic baby food many times throughout the day because I could not eat solid food (it was too painful to swallow and digest).

I think supplementation can play a key role, especially if you're symptoms are severe and it's difficult to swallow or keep food down.

I invested in a Vitamix blender which has been a critical piece of equipment because it liquefies my meals. After my two weeks of eating baby food I decided to try drinking one vegetable / fruit smoothie with some water each day. I also stuck to a strict diet as outlined in the book Dropping Acid by Dr. Jamie Koufman.

I'm currently entering my 2nd month of the diet and am only eating 7 to 8 foods and nothing else. Most of my nutritional needs are being met because I can pack a lot of nutrient dense foods into my smoothies.

This morning for breakfast I put the following ingredients in my blender:

  • Organic banana
  • Organic peeled and cored red apple
  • Two handfuls of baby spinach
  • 2 Kale leaves
  • 1 teaspoon of flaxseed oil  (helps with absorption)
  • 1 sprig of cilantro
  • 2-4 small slices of ginger root
  • Handful of organic blueberries
  • 2 tablespoons of almond butter (you can use organic peanut butter as well)
  • 1-2 cups of filtered water (depending on how thick you want the drink to be)

I don't drink the whole thing at once because I want to make it easy on my stomach.  So I drink about a mug's worth every 30-45 minutes.   By the time lunch time rolls around I'm ready for lunch which is usually home made chicken vegetable soup or steamed white rice with steamed green beans and/or carrots with steamed mushrooms.  

Ever since I made the decision to stay way from all processed food, my symptoms have been slowly getting better.  It's been really slow because my esophagus has been really damaged over the years.  It took me years to get this bad so I won't be surprised if it takes me many months or even years to get better.

I think what we eat, what we drink, how and when we eat it, all has a major impact on our digestive health.

Posted 7/24/2015 3:10 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the reply and the suggestions.
I have no problem nor pain swallowing. My only problem being that which I swallow seems to enjoy making an encore performance in my esophagus. I let my teeth be my blender by chewing very thoroughly. You say that you drink some every 30-45 minutes but, from what I have read, it is better to eat a meal, then let you stomach empty before eating again.

I realize that I am changing too many variables at once: reducing my omeprazole dosage, starting a few-foods diet, and adding back foods to see what triggers GI problems. I also realize that they are all related: omeprazole effects my overall digestion as well as my GERD symptoms, the few-foods diet has far more meat and less carbohydrates than my usual diet which, again effects my digestion, and subtracting, then adding back foods I have problems with also effects my digestion and GERD. This is making it hard to know which causes what. I suspected the rice was causing problems, so i traded it for zucchini, but felt starved because zucchini is about as nutritious as packing peanuts. I needed another carbohydrate, so I added the sweet potatoes. I then noticed that I felt more stuff in the throat an d woke up hoarse. So was that from the reduced omeprazple or from the sweet potatoes?

I should change only one thing at a time, but feel a little stuck. The omeprazole is not great for my digestion and is responsible for the toe cramps and poor sleep because of its effect on Ca & Mg absorption. Quitting altogether seems likely to bring back the full fury of GERD. Another thing I take notice of is the fact that my mother and her father both had stomach issues. I would be willing to bet these are inherited food sensitivities. I'll continue to muddle along, recording what I do, then in the future, repeat the process to confirm the cause and effect.
Posted 7/24/2015 1:38 PM (GMT 0)
I don't think I gave enough detail: yes, I drink my smoothies every 30-45 minutes in the morning because it's easier on my digestive system so it takes me about 2 1/2 to 3 hours to finish my breakfast. I'm not sure what you're reading but my own nutritionist stated that it's far easier to eat smaller meals during the day as opposed to eating a  normal-sized meal. My symptoms are so severe that I have to drink my smoothie in small amounts. So for me this is working.

Eating a full or partial meal and then letting my stomach completely empty really isn't an option for me at this point.  Also eating these smaller meals throughout the day keeps my GERD symptoms in check.  If I leave my stomach empty for too long, the symptoms sometimes start up again. 

You can always taper off the Omeprazole instead of going cold turkey.

The dilemma with rice is that it's very good at settling the stomach, however, it's also a carbohydrate and can potentially feed any bad bacteria you have in your gut. Some doctors who specialize in gut flora and GI issues have advocated staying on a low-carb diet (no grains, no gluten, no rice, no pasta, etc.) for at least a month to see if it alleviates symptoms.

Are you taking any probiotic supplements or taking any naturally? My preference is drinking 1-2 tablespoons of sauerkraut juice (organic and non-pasteurized) after each meal.

 

Posted 7/24/2015 2:54 PM (GMT 0)
I personally prefer just keeping the good old food journal/diary/log. Look one of those up in the search box at the top of the page.

There's no telling what dropping almost all foods does to your body, and vitamins ARE suspect. For example, biotin contains a lot of sulfite, and that's my food trigger for reflux.

Your LES could indeed have stopped working overnight - IF something major happened. If you suddenly had an incident that caused a tear in the diaphragm or there was already a tear and part of the stomach popped up through the hole, it could have pulled the LES open. It happened to me after a car wreck, but that's an extreme event, and it doesn't always take something dramatic like that.

The best thing is to see a gastroenterologist and get some tests done to see if there's a physical component to the GERD. Then see if a switch in PPI cold work better. I didn't tolerate any of the OTC ones, some because of the dose of OTCs being half the prescription strength.

There are SO many things possible, so check with a doctor, not just ordinary people on forums.
Posted 8/7/2015 2:31 AM (GMT 0)
So far, so good. I'm down to 8 mg/day omeprazole and still no acid rebound. I've added foods back to my diet to the point of excluding only grains, dairy and limiting the amount of those foods listed in "The Low FODMAP Diet" - foods that contain indigestible sugars that over-feed the gut flora. My gastroenterologist suggested that book because I complained of gas when I saw him regarding GERD. At the time, I asked if I should be looking into food sensitivities for the GERD, and he said no. Seems he was wrong.
Posted 10/16/2015 5:15 AM (GMT 0)
I've been off omeprazole since September 1. Only a couple of mild cases of heartburn as a result of eating more than I should of those things I should not. A low FODMAP diet is pretty easy to follow and it is way more effective than the drugs.
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