Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives NSD and diet-related; Confused with veggies

Breakfast - 3 eggs fried in butter. Huge bowl of broccoli (maybe 2-3 cups of broccoli florets) sauteed in olive oil and left over drippings from baked chicken or duck (for flavor).

Lunch - Huge salad. My colleagues call it a trough. Top it off with baked chicken. Salad dressing is olive oil. I accompany it with a couple of naturally brined olives.

Dinner - Salmon (~.67-75 pounds) seared in ghee. Stir fried greens. I can easily eat 12 ounces of kale or spinach in one stir fry. Depending on the vegetable I will sautee in butter, coconut oil, or olive oil.

Please keep in mind that the ratios I quoted above are associated with my height. You may be different.

I seriously do table spoons of extra virgin coconut oil on the side. A treat for me is a fresh avocado. A convenience snack are walnuts. Those are example of healthy fats that can satiate me.


Eliminating the sugar and starches made me lose weight. Once I figured out what I could eat and couldn't eat, my weight started to stabilize and I gained weight again. My biggest mistake early on was not eating enough veggies and eating too much protein.


Honestly, my not-so-helpful advice would be don't binge. For me, it was easy because there was such a strong connection between food and pain that I had an easy time avoiding offending foods. That being said, when I truly cut all sugar (including fruits) out of my diet, I was super irritable the first 2-4 weeks. It takes a while for your body to adjust. If you cut all your sugar, make sure you get enough fats. Spoons of coconut oil can help. Copious amounts of butter. Fattier cuts of meat (e.g., chicken thighs as opposed to chicken breast).

To be honest, Tim's advice is sage. Taking it in steps will make it easier to transition. If you've been dealing with the wretched disease for quite some time, it'll take longer to notice benefits. It will not happen over night.

Good luck!

Thanks u again. My big issue is just not being able to digest meat, fat, and veg. I've tried supplements like hcl and enzymes, it they don't help. What helped u digest all the fat and protein and veg?

Also, what other supplements do u take? Do u do fermented foods and coconut butter/milk?

When I had my worst intestinal issues I had a series of colonics performed... it helped turn things around for me.

Check out the Alternative Medicine Guide to Arthritis book... it has a couple of case studies of individuals with AS. The first one in book is what got me intrigued with the idea of colonics.

I saw a professional to have it done.

Tim

I do coffee enemas, which help a lot

I def react to Butternut squash. Major joint pain

Is spaghetti squash my starch? And does cooking zucchini cause it to be starchy?

Sorry for not responding faster. Couple o' quick responses below.


With the exception of gluten and milk, I never noticed a trouble to digest foods. I know that others do take HCL and enzymes with varying degrees of success to digest better, but I never had to explore those options (knocks on wood).


I do eat sauerkraut. At one point, I was making my own kim chi, but I just haven't had the time to do that again. I do not eat coconut butter or coconut milk. When I travel and don't have my probiotic pills with me (need to be refrigerated), I'll try to find some coconut water kefir as a probiotic. I do not eat coconut butter or coconut milk.

My supplements are super simple and straightforward:
magnesium citrate
calcium citrate
cod liver oil
vitamin C
vitamin B complex
probiotic

That's it. Over the years, I experimented with others (e.g. krill oil, triphala, tumeric, glutamine, psyllium husk, etc.), but I've narrowed it down the ones above. Of the ones above, I feel vitamin C is the most important but I have no proof of that.

I subscribe to the notion that if you have a healthy, balanced diet, you're getting most of the nutrients you need. Someone has a sig here that says Let Food By Thine Medicine, and after 5 years of a strict diet, I firmly believe in the virtues of a very healthy diet.

Unfortunately, I'm not certain if I provided you anything more specific that addresses your digestion problems. I vaguely remember another AS-kicker who had digestion issues and he came up with a variation of the diet that best addressed his needs. I think he posts frequently and has a blog. That may also be worth a try.

Good luck!

I'm still confused abt veg. On a Facebook group I'm on for as, they say that zucchini, carrots, cabbage, Brussel sprouts and Bok choy are starchy. Are they? I'm so confused. Idk what to buy at the store and I cant afford to buy veg only to test them and find they r starchy. So I need a list that is safe before I go to the store.

Does cooking the veg I listed above make them starchy or not starchy? Please help me.... I'm struggling horribly, am really confused, and need help

Also, have u bought the new edition of the low starch diet for ibs? Is it good and worth the money?

Is seaweed like dulse or nori ok?

The reason you are confused is because it's confusing.
Although this diet has a generic name "the no starch diet", I don't think any 2 people follow exactly the same diet.
Veggies being, I think the most confusing part of the diet.
From a starch point of view, according to Carole Sinclair's : "Many green vegetables release starch when they're cooked but not when they are raw. A few vegetables do not contain starch, even when they're cooked. Cooked spinach, asparagus, fennel and mild onions seem to be reliably starch-free. Broccoli is very low in starch."
I personnally avoid raw vegetables (apart from lettuce), as it was advised by my Chinese medecine practitioner, cooked veggies are easier to digest.
I'm doing an elimination diet at the moment to find out which foods I react too, as i think that is the only way to figure out YOUR diet. And I'm reacting to stuff I never thought I would. I did react to cooked spinach which is one of the safe ones described by Carole Sinclairs. I think starch is not the only things that upset our conditions hence why some people react to different foods. So working off a list, or a sample diet won't help you. You need to eliminate foods and then reintroduce them and check for reactions. If you go off other people's experience you will fail as their needs are different to yours.
NSD can be very overwhelming at first (im a year in now), so just make it as simple as you can. The first step is finding some safe foods (even if it's litterally 2 or 3) and then you can start experimenting from there.
All the best to you.
Marion

Yes... if you cook veggies they can become more starchy as it releases with cooking. I mostly eat veggies raw or steamed (zucchini, asparagus, brocolli).

Carrots can be issue for some here... I have never read zucchini or cabbage being an issue from starch for anyone here.

Thanks to u both. It's hard bc i have a lot of sensitivities like foods high in histamine, oxalate, and fodmaps to name a few. I also have bad gut issues, so the majority of veggies don't digest... Starchy veg are of course easiest to digest, but they cause a joint/muscle/breathing flare. Raw veggies, greens, etc are harder to digest, but they don't aggravate my other issues as much. So, it's been really frustrating.

Which veggies do u guys eat cooked? Which do u eat raw?

Are raw zucchini, cooked cabbage, seaweed, cooked cauli/broc/carrot (ie, California mix), asparagus, cooked collards, green beans, Brussel sprouts ok?

This has been such a headache for me and just really need help