I haven't failed the no-starch-diet and it hasn't failed me, but what has failed is my ability to be so strict on the diet.
If I had started the no-starch-diet long before the AS has destroyed my body, then I believe I could have gotten much better results from dieting over long term. Aside from that, there are a few areas that contributed to 'what went wrong'.
I'm poor and living in a country setting so I can't afford to travel from town to town to hunt for starch free food. Most of the alleged starch free food I find here in town fails the iodine tests. All of the food that doesn't pass is wasted money in my opinion, especially if we decide not to eat it. Even if I am lucky enough to score on starch-free foods, some of it spoils before I can eat it too. If I had started the no-start-diet when I was able to earn a living then maybe I would have never had this problem (because maybe then I would still be able to work).
I have a problem with eating foods high in sugar too, so for me, I need to avoid both starch and sugars. I have to be strict on dairies, fruit, sweeteners (including natural), etc. There are times where I've had milk and fruit juices set off huge AS flares. I'm also lactose intolerant through colitis.
Whatever sets off my Ulcerative Colitis also sets off my AS pains, and that almost never fails, so I need to be sure to never upset my colitis. This includes eating healthy and starch free food too. I have to avoid some of the natural goodness all together, like seeds, nuts, anything with peels, and so on.
There once was a time where I went strict on the no-starch-diet and all of the natural unprocessed foods weren't agreeing with my Colitis. Everything I was eating was getting passed through as undigested too. Too much of the wrong fiber maybe? That is when I became interested in using blenders and juicers, and cooking veggies into mush, to help assist me with digestion, which seemed to help somewhat.
For some reason, I never seem to have any noticeable problems with the natural unprocessed starches. For instance, I can have a baked potato but I can't ever have potato chips, even the 'natural' kind. No problems with brown rice or whole grain breads either. So I'm baffled about whether if starch is being my worst offender or not. Over-processed over-sweetened foods in general are definitely a no-no for me, especially if they are starches. Naturally sweet food is also bad for me, such as a glass of OJ or grape juice. I hate having to eat things like candy, cookies and cupcakes anymore - nearly instant pain. I can't have a lot of caffeine so I make an exception for a small piece of chocolate if I am having trouble waking up from fatigue though. Sometimes being awake and alert is more important than what pain it can cause. I make an exception for a few swallows of lemon-lime pop too, as it is the only drink that settles my stomach.
So for the past several years I have been following my own diet: Low starch, Low sugar, Low dairy, and as more wholesome and nutritious as I can make it. If I can at least do that, then I am eliminating at least half of my pain.
I am pretty much the same! This is why I am really confused with my body! I have Undiff Spondy and I seem to be ok with rice and grainy breads (obviously in limited amounts) but sweet/sugary foods (especially anything overprocessed and I am in pain) I also get pain from potatoes (but not bread?) We all seem to have such different reactions to different starches. Maybe it depends on the stage of disease and other GI issues we have (I also have IBS).
