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[JohnBonham]

Sounds great, keep us posted!

 

[Giraffe]

post 109335 Eating the same food for a short period of time does sound like a really good idea. I have come up with: Apple juice, cooked apples, bananas, uncle bens rice and coconut water. Maybe parmesan courgette crisps too. Any other suggestions that are low in starch?

This is almost the diet I would follow if I had diarrhea.

Nstocks, can you list the protein sources that don't agree with you? I hope we can come up with a few alternatives.

In addition to other magnesium supplements ... If you have not tried it yet, you might want to dissolve some Epsom salt in water (~ 1 tbsp of lukewarm water and as much Epsom salt as would dissolve) and massage it on the belly. This might help with bowel movements.

 

[Nstocks]

It's an adaptation of the BRAT diet (banana, rice, apple juice/sauce and toast) that is commonly used when people are ill.

Protein has always been on the low side when I tracked calories. (less than 50g even with milk).

I would like to avoid all dairy for a while so dairy, eggs, nuts, beans and probably most grains don't work for me. I rarely eat meat/poultry these days either, although I did have a craving for Lamb dolmas with grilled pineapple - I think it's the sweet and salty that I like. (Consumed quite often on Paleo days).

I'm wiling to try pretty much anything. Anyone that knows me will know nothing phases me with food. The way I see it is I'm in a bad state of wellbeing anyway so it's not like it can get much worse, within reason

 

[messtafarian]

Hiya:

I just found out that I have three raging viruses in my body that I apparently can't clear because I'm immunosuppressed. One of them is an enterovirus, which enters through the fecal-oral route (yuck) and I have had diarrhea for about a year. It got so bad I was truly considering my options in the Adult Garment aisle at the drugstore.

It could be a stomach *virus*. If you think that might be true I would do carrot salad, small frequent feedings of coconut oil, and broth with a dab of coconut oil in it on the hour or so. Rice might also help since it has a rebuilding action on the intestines.

If you really feel better on no food, try no food for a couple days, only liquid.

You can also check out the specific carbohydrate diet which I had some luck with and also has testimonials from people with stories like " I drank the water in Belize and I've never been the same."

 

[tara]

post 109163 I will look at cornflour - I don't think it is as starchy as the other options if I'm giving up dairy.

I think cornflour is pretty close to 100% starch? I use super starchy powders well cooked with stewed fruit sometimes to thicken them up - I haven't tried pears, but I can imagine stewed pears with ginger or cinnamon and thickened with a bit of starch going down well in my household.

post 109963 Lamb dolmas with grilled pineapple

:)

My stomach says thank you when I eat potatoes and meat and well boiled greens. Also liver.

Is not eating meat for taste/ethical/environmental/health reasons? If I'm skipping milk and seeds, and I don't want to eat a dozen eggs, I can't see any easy ways to get enough protein without land or water flesh. Unless you go to amino acid powders.

I would not do well on the BRAT diet you mentioned. Neither large amounts of bananas nor toast are optimal for my gut, when I'm trying to be extra nice to it.

I too would like to see you try more magnesium. Consider green broth, too, if not the whole veges, as well as trying supplements.

 

[halken]

Out of interest and options, what would you eat in my situation? (excluding a gallon of liquids to get achieve 3000 calories)

I suppose I would do what I'm doing as of recent.

Sticking to coconut (water and oil), white potatoes (flesh and water), certain herbs, light watery greens, mushrooms, eggs, certain seafood (once a week) and certain fruits.

I'm avoiding grain and dairy at all costs.

 

[DrJ]

My digestive problems cleared up when I mostly eliminated fiber (not abruptly; more below). I try to keep it under 5g/day, and it's not uncommon for me to achieve 0mg/day most of the week.

You seem to be eating some fermented foods (kefir), which burdens your liver and will slow bile production, affecting your bowel movements. If your movements are pale-colored its a sign of low bile production. Coffee (caffeine) can help this somewhat.

Every once in a while, when I have a social situation that causes me to eat much fiber, like vegetables or beans even in small amounts, I really feel it. It kills my mood and makes me feel bad and bloated. I have a "reset" procedure that I use. Important to note is that soluble fibers absorb about 5X their volume in water (meaning high-fiber foods like unrefined grains expand by about 5X!), and this probably clogs your intestinal tract. Especially since the intestines are all folded up next to each other. An increase in bulk in one section can pinch off neighboring sections, causing a negative "movement" feedback loop. That's why stopping fiber abruptly can cause problems. Something needs to force things out.

My "reset" procedure is to take a tea called Smooth Move which is made from Senna leaf, a "natural" laxative available at your local grocery store; make sure to follow the steeping directions carefully. It may not be exactly Peat, but seems to work. If you take it at night before you go to bed, you need to reserve the whole next morning until noon for being by the bathroom (don't go to work!). It should absolutely clear you out; you should be running to the bathroom many times throughout the morning. If it doesn't you probably have some severe intestinal obstructions beyond the capabilities of this method. But ideally, you should finish the morning feeling like you just took a series of the most life-affirming boom-booms you have ever taken. You should feel light and awesome, your mind should fly, and congested sinuses should clear. No joke.

After that, for at least the next 12 hours, and preferably 24+, you should be consuming "easy" Peat-y foods like orange juice and milk (if you tolerate it) to let the intestine heal. Avoid fiber. Saturated fats are good. I also take much gelatin during this time for its anti-inflammatory properties, but it seems you have problems with that, so maybe avoid, but I would say that gelatin and bone broths are very helpful for me personally during this time. If your intestine is really in distress, you may really need to do this "reset diet" for longer, and really avoid fiber and high serotonin foods (bananas) since it can inflame the intestine and instead consume high-sugar liquids (juice) and high-protein liquids (milk); white rice is probably fine unless you have a bacteria problem.

This - in my experience - "resets" your digestive tract. You can still mess it up by the consumption of more fiber (bananas, oats, non-white rice). If your temp still remains low, you have other metabolic problems to address, which may affect your results since low metabolism generally means leaky intestine. I have found aspirin and pregnenolone combined with a Peat-ish diet useful for remedying this, but the timeline is long. Always check your temp! High temp (97.5F+) always corresponds with good bowel function for me assuming I haven't messed things up with some vegetable fiber (clean digestive tract, achieved by discipline or reset).

 

[Nstocks]

Hiya:

I just found out that I have three raging viruses in my body that I apparently can't clear because I'm immunosuppressed. One of them is an enterovirus, which enters through the fecal-oral route (yuck) and I have had diarrhea for about a year. It got so bad I was truly considering my options in the Adult Garment aisle at the drugstore.

It could be a stomach *virus*. If you think that might be true I would do carrot salad, small frequent feedings of coconut oil, and broth with a dab of coconut oil in it on the hour or so. Rice might also help since it has a rebuilding action on the intestines.

If you really feel better on no food, try no food for a couple days, only liquid.

You can also check out the specific carbohydrate diet which I had some luck with and also has testimonials from people with stories like " I drank the water in Belize and I've never been the same."

The Doctor told you that? Surely there is some way to fight out the viruses? That's like saying your body is 'done' and you have to live with it :? I read somewhere that a young girl have fecal transplants from her mother and that cured here illness. Obviously that's a high risk procedure and might not work for many people...

I gave up the carrot salad after a few weeks because it didn't do anything for me, other than contribute to constipation. I try to get a small serving of coconut oil daily too.

SCD diet is another option for a solid meal plan (which I think I need).

 

[Nstocks]

Is not eating meat for taste/ethical/environmental/health reasons? If I'm skipping milk and seeds, and I don't want to eat a dozen eggs, I can't see any easy ways to get enough protein without land or water flesh. Unless you go to amino acid powders.

I would not do well on the BRAT diet you mentioned. Neither large amounts of bananas nor toast are optimal for my gut, when I'm trying to be extra nice to it.

I too would like to see you try more magnesium. Consider green broth, too, if not the whole veges, as well as trying supplements.

No reason for skipping meat other than I went off the taste last year. Paleo days I ate meat twice a day (including breakfast!). I'm salivating at the idea of Lamb Dolmas and grilled pineapple though so I might eat 500g lamb per week. Only eat grass fed organic, which limits the volume due to price but again, I don't want to eat too much meat anyway because it's hard to digest.

In these colder months, broth would go down well. I'm guessing spinach and kale would be a good starting point for this?

 

[Nstocks]

post 110046 My digestive problems cleared up when I mostly eliminated fiber (not abruptly; more below). I try to keep it under 5g/day, and it's not uncommon for me to achieve 0mg/day most of the week.

You seem to be eating some fermented foods (kefir), which burdens your liver and will slow bile production, affecting your bowel movements. If your movements are pale-colored its a sign of low bile production. Coffee (caffeine) can help this somewhat.

Every once in a while, when I have a social situation that causes me to eat much fiber, like vegetables or beans even in small amounts, I really feel it. It kills my mood and makes me feel bad and bloated. I have a "reset" procedure that I use. Important to note is that soluble fibers absorb about 5X their volume in water (meaning high-fiber foods like unrefined grains expand by about 5X!), and this probably clogs your intestinal tract. Especially since the intestines are all folded up next to each other. An increase in bulk in one section can pinch off neighboring sections, causing a negative "movement" feedback loop. That's why stopping fiber abruptly can cause problems. Something needs to force things out.

My "reset" procedure is to take a tea called Smooth Move which is made from Senna leaf, a "natural" laxative available at your local grocery store; make sure to follow the steeping directions carefully. It may not be exactly Peat, but seems to work. If you take it at night before you go to bed, you need to reserve the whole next morning until noon for being by the bathroom (don't go to work!). It should absolutely clear you out; you should be running to the bathroom many times throughout the morning. If it doesn't you probably have some severe intestinal obstructions beyond the capabilities of this method. But ideally, you should finish the morning feeling like you just took a series of the most life-affirming boom-booms you have ever taken. You should feel light and awesome, your mind should fly, and congested sinuses should clear. No joke.

After that, for at least the next 12 hours, and preferably 24+, you should be consuming "easy" Peat-y foods like orange juice and milk (if you tolerate it) to let the intestine heal. Avoid fiber. Saturated fats are good. I also take much gelatin during this time for its anti-inflammatory properties, but it seems you have problems with that, so maybe avoid, but I would say that gelatin and bone broths are very helpful for me personally during this time. If your intestine is really in distress, you may really need to do this "reset diet" for longer, and really avoid fiber and high serotonin foods (bananas) since it can inflame the intestine and instead consume high-sugar liquids (juice) and high-protein liquids (milk); white rice is probably fine unless you have a bacteria problem.

This - in my experience - "resets" your digestive tract. You can still mess it up by the consumption of more fiber (bananas, oats, non-white rice). If your temp still remains low, you have other metabolic problems to address, which may affect your results since low metabolism generally means leaky intestine. I have found aspirin and pregnenolone combined with a Peat-ish diet useful for remedying this, but the timeline is long. Always check your temp! High temp (97.5F+) always corresponds with good bowel function for me assuming I haven't messed things up with some vegetable fiber (clean digestive tract, achieved by discipline or reset).

I've quit kefir - thrown the grains in the freezer for long term storage :)

When I tracked calories earlier in the year, my fibre was always under 10g per day which I know Peat is an advocate of - low fibre. But, with no bowel movements, I'm wondering if some fibre might help things moving... Looking back to a few years ago, I probably drank over 3 gallons of Psyllium husks (for a candida cleanse). That would not go down right now!

Cascara usually helps but not before giving me cramps first, then I go once per hour for a few hours. Senna is a lot calmer but all these laxatives could be doing more harm than good?

Apple juice is going down quite well, it doesn't leave me with 'mucus' unlike OJ. Aspirin hasn't been consumed before either, but I'll give magnesium a try first.

 

[charlie]

post 110054 Senna is a lot calmer but all these laxatives could be doing more harm than good?

"Paul Jaminet said that "senna" is "risky"."

viewtopic.php?p=106481#p106481

 

[DrJ]

post 110055

post 110054 Senna is a lot calmer but all these laxatives could be doing more harm than good?

"Paul Jaminet said that "senna" is "risky"."

viewtopic.php?p=106481#p106481

Ah, thanks. I wondered about it since it can be a little rough. I think I will look more closely for an alternative.

 

[thebigpeatowski]

Hi Nstocks,

It sounds like you are very much hypothyroid, constipation, bloating, low stomach acid, cold feet etc. People who are hypo needs LOTS of magnesium. Have you tried the MagBicarb water? Also, high doses of Betaine HCL with pepsin to help with protein digestion. (This would only be a temporary measure until you get things moving).

If your bowels have been that sluggish for a long time you could have SIBO as well. Depending on the particular strains of gut flora that you carry a high fiber diet with lots of starch and grain will make things WORSE. Swollen irritated intestines and not having a BM every day will poison your body with endotoxin and further suppress the thyroid. You could try minocycline to reduce the bacterial load...or an herbal antibiotic like raw garlic, Mastic Gum or high doses standardized Olive Leaf Extract.

Relying on psyllium or senna will make things worse long-term as your colon will get lazy. I have a friend who has lost the ability to move her bowels on her own, she's much older than you (in her 50's) and has been using Metamucil etc. since she was in her 20's. It's very sad to watch, she is aging rapidly and has all kinds of systemic inflammation.

Lots of people find that fruit helps loosen things up, lots of grapes or even prune juice might get stuff moving which will improve your appetite for more protein. Your liver needs protein but when digestion is so poor it's difficult to eat enough.

Also, I don't recall what thyroid meds you are taking...Have you tried just T3 with no T4 for a couple months?

I know you'll find what works for you, keep EXPERIMENTING!!!

 

[Nstocks]

Hi thebigpeatowski,

I took HCL when I was paleo - unto SIX capsule but didn't feel any effect. I think apple cider vinegar works better. Never tried pepsin though. Never heard of MagBicarb water and it's not in the UK anyway...

SIBO was something I came across a few years ago (again on paleo) but because I ate so "clean" (strictly meat and veg) I didn't think I would have that. I took raw garlic last year for a few days and had a very elevated heart rate so I stopped. As much as I hate to take pills, mastic gum is suggested for digestive issues so perhaps something I could try too. (along with xxxmg of magnesium? - how many mg would be a good starting point?)

I can totally see why laxatives will make the colon lazy. Not too long ago I manually removed my poop. Yep, I'd put on a glove and scrape it out - it was the only way

I started on cynoplus 17 months ago but more recently have had to move to Novotiral because Cyno isn't available. 1.5 grains per day now. (morning, mid, and night). I don't really understand T3 and T4 dosages anymore so wouldn't know why to take one on its own. Since I'm trying magnesium and perhaps mastic gum, I don't want to change other supplementation for a while.

Experimenting is quite liberating. I love change but so far it has just been a huge waste of time and money. Well, that is until everything has been tested and I find a solution!

What would you eat in my situation? I'm eating a lot of rice and feet get colder often but I do like the habit of eating the same thing ever day.

 

[tara]

post 110112 Never heard of MagBicarb water and it's not in the UK anyway...

I don't think you can buy it RTD. There are instructions on making it yourself from milk of magnesia + soda water. I couldn't get pure milk of magnesia, so I bought mag hydroxide powder, which milk of magnesia is made from.

post 110112 (along with xxxmg of magnesium? - how many mg would be a good starting point?)

400mg Mg split into 2 or more doses? Maybe from different forms till you work out which ones agree with you/get absorbed usefully? You may want more, but this is a commonly recommended amount in the mainstream, and I think Peat has said it's reasonable for hypothyroid folk.

post 110112
I started on cynoplus 17 months ago but more recently have had to move to Novotiral because Cyno isn't available. 1.5 grains per day now. (morning, mid, and night). I don't really understand T3 and T4 dosages anymore so wouldn't know why to take one on its own.

Not sure what this means. NDT is measured in grains; the synthetic T3 and T4 are measured in mcg. Cynoplus is T3+T4. Is novotiral T3 only? If so, that's a big change. Are you spliting it into multiple little doses per day?

 

[tara]

post 110054 Cascara usually helps but not before giving me cramps first, then I go once per hour for a few hours. Senna is a lot calmer but all these laxatives could be doing more harm than good?

What happens if you use half as much? or quarter? I use a low dose, and enjoy gentle effects.
I think pau' d'arco has some similar properties, and may be milder, so you could try that if you want something different.

Lots of good thoughts from TBP, too.

I think pineapple may have enzymes that help digest meat, so lamb and pineapple may have that advantage, if it agrees with you.

 

[Nstocks]

Not sure what this means. NDT is measured in grains; the synthetic T3 and T4 are measured in mcg. Cynoplus is T3+T4. Is novotiral T3 only? If so, that's a big change. Are you spliting it into multiple little doses per day?

Ah yes, I mean tablets not grains.

Novotiral is 100mcg / 20mcg. It's written in spanish as:
Levotiroxina sodica equivalente a 100.00 mcg de levotiroxina
Liotironina sodica equivalente a 20.00 mcg de liotironina (Triyodotironina)
(MERCK brand)

So 100mcg of T4 and 20mcg of T3.

I take half a tablet in the morning, half at around 1pm and another half before bed.

For reference Cynoplus was 120 mcg T4 and 30 mcg T3

 

[Nstocks]

post 110132

post 110054 Cascara usually helps but not before giving me cramps first, then I go once per hour for a few hours. Senna is a lot calmer but all these laxatives could be doing more harm than good?

What happens if you use half as much? or quarter? I use a low dose, and enjoy gentle effects.
I think pau' d'arco has some similar properties, and may be milder, so you could try that if you want something different.

Lots of good thoughts from TBP, too.

I think pineapple may have enzymes that help digest meat, so lamb and pineapple may have that advantage, if it agrees with you.

I only take cascara after emptying half of the pill and it still gives me cramp and then diarrhea.

I drink Pau d'arco tea a few times a week.

Lamb dolmas are on the menu this weekend

 

[tara]

post 110135 I only take cascara after emptying half of the pill and it still gives me cramp and then diarrhea.

I was using about 1/2 a capsule split over a day (as tea), and getting noticable effects. If this is too strong, what about half of this or less?
What about making a half cup of tea out of 1/4 capsule, and just having one mouthful. If that does not cause distress, another mouthful 24 hrs later. Small gradual increments.

 

[Nstocks]

I've been looking at the SCD diet. For a lot of the meals, it is starch and almond flour goods. That's not to say I have to eat those but for a base point, perhaps this isn't the right way?

Eliminating meat for a long time hasn't changed anything really, so I will slowly add that back in to give a few good meals. But for the rest, I can only think of rice and tuna! (and there are a LOT of rice products out there for substitutes...)