Hi!

I also get problems with my stomack when I eat especially disaccharides. The reason I believe we get problems is that for some reason whe don't have enough enzymes to break down the disaccharides so they move on to the bacteria. When the bacteria break them down they actually ferment them and gas is produced. This gas causes your intestines to swell up and that's why you are in pain.

Se this lnik!
Bacterias n stuff

Maybe one should try and eat some enzymes that digest sugar?

Hi, James:

First, let me apologize for the name of the NSD. It should properly be called a series of dietary measures that will hopefully result in elimination of most starches that provoke an AS reaction.

Since our nemesis germ also ferments lactose and lactose is sometimes not absorbed early enough in the digestive tract, milk and many milk products can cause AS problems. Fruits can also be a problem here, since the bacterium’s first food choice is sugar and if we could deliver sugar unabsorbed into our lower tract, it would cause flares. Consider that some fruits are very rich in fructose and this sometimes does not so easily come out of the pectin cell matrix—no matter what level of Fletcherization we apply.

I think, however, that you have something else going on more related to dysbiosis and candidiasis. Dysbiosis is the accepted term for normal intestinal flora either being out of balance or out of place or, usually the case, both. Candidiasis is the condition caused by the overgrowth of the common bowel flora Candida albicans, technically a yeast. Symptoms of this include that very personal itching that might cause us to ‘fidget,’ and there is a basic test for this: A clear glass of room temperature distilled water and upon arising before brushing teeth, spit onto the surface and place in a cool dark place. Check it in four hours and intervals of two after this, noticing whether there are ‘stringers’ or threads issuing down from the surface. If so, there is a good chance you have severe candidiasis.

But this may not be the root of the problem, either.

Understand that AS is caused by the common bowel germ Klebsiella pneumoniae, but it is triggered by anything that causes LGS (leaky gut syndrome) and we cannot get AS—no matter what our genetics are—unless we have LGS. Candidiasis causes LGS, but NSAIDs do, also. It by this very mechanism that NSAIDs will greatly accelerate (exacerbate) AS activity. We have a technological diet—foods are refined, treated, adulterated, and otherwise screwed up to extend shelf life or get us hooked or make it pretty enough to stuff into our faces. Our bowel flora take full advantage of this and what we eat determines the relative composition of our mucosa (it this case, the substrate for the over 200 enterobacteriaceae, 3000 viruses, 50 or so fungi, and other identified residents we don’t even want to talk about).

Scientists label most of these residents as benign or non-virulent, but we absolutely know that they can be virulent when misplaced—so there is probably an in-between condition that we know as AS but others know as asthma or perhaps conditions not yet associated with various residents.

Sometimes a reaction to sugars can be due to candidiasis, other times, as when the reaction is so immediate, there is dysbiosis associated with gastric ulcer. It is not easy to tell the difference, and in treating the gastritis using antibiotics, the candidiasis will almost certainly get worse (fasting will successfully treat both).

Not to belabor the point, but the gastritis, which may or may not be caused by H. pylori, but certainly there are some bacteria involved where they ought not be, and things like PPI drugs only make this worse, long-term.. A course of antibiotics along with PPI (proton pump inhibitor) during this and slightly after, might be a good alternative to fasting, but fasting also reduces AS symptoms. I learned many years later the reason fasting eases AS—it is because our intestinal flora is greatly reduced. After an extended fast of 20 days, I was in remission for many months and my explanation, in light of what I have learned since then is that such a lengthy fast allowed much intestinal healing.

It took fasting (7 days plus 4 days with week of no dairy in between) for me to eliminate my own cases of GI-itises (proctitis, diverticulitis, jejunitis, colitis, cryptitis…) that were the result of my own NSAID abuse (taking ANY NSAIDs at recommended dosages will almost always result in abuse; they kept changing the warning literature inside the boxes of Voltaren I was buying…I actually read that stuff…). This was before the connection with H. pylori was accepted, and when I resolved to not return to the doctors for still more drugs to treat the side effects of…drugs.

There are about four or five days of misery to endure starting the fast and eliminating NSAID usage, but this can be endured—and should be, to eliminate NSAID usage after the fast so that intestinal healing can continue.

I don’t know whether or not the Edgar Cayce 3 Day Apple Diet would help set things right again, but with apple season fast approaching, it is something to consider, even if you treat for H. pylori, which can also help with AS, btw, if you remain on a reduced-starch regimen.

What I am certain about is that control of AS requires many cycles and treatment options; it does not go away so rapidly, just as it took a long time to develop. The treatment options should always include diet, but some individuals may not need to be so strict, albeit everyone should be very strict at first.

Cycles should include anti-candidiasis regimens (elimination of sugars, refined starches, cheeses, table grapes, pineapple, etc). Tuna is our friend as are colloidal silver, caprylic acid, raw garlic, enteric-coated oregano oil, and vitC. Also, anti-parasite regimens like taking wormwood and eating seven servings of bitter melon in one week ( 3 and a half average sized melons—the size of a small cucumber, usually, total). The Zampieron, et al book (Arthritis: An Alternative Medicine Definitive Guide) contains many good suggestions, despite not giving proper credit for Cayce’s castor oil packs. But my main cycles were those I dictated (after discussions with microbiologists and others who might know about our nemesis bacterium)—antibiotics, total starch and dairy exclusion, fasting, apples, less strict diet, etc.

Eventually, I was able to eliminate all the inflammation, reducing my ESR from 45 to 18 and able to maintain this level using diet alone, staying away from milk products, generally. Once I began eating too much cheese again (I keep forgetting it is a condiment and not a main dish!), the symptoms would creep back and I needed to take more antibiotics and be strict with diet again. In this period, it would take almost a day for minor symptoms to happen and about 3 days to resolve the pains, measuring ESR up to 26, then a fast would move the needle back down. Taking NSAIDs and anything else that dulls our pain also dulls our perception of exactly which foods were the worst. Although I did discover the deep-fried foods connection with flares while taking these terrible drugs.

Sorry this is such a lengthy reply, but there are no simple solutions, and therefore no promises to the problems of both healing the gut while treating some of these conditions.

By the time I discovered antibiotics, I had fasted so often that I do not think that I had candidiasis, so this is a compilation of experiences that other people fighting both AS and candidiasis have had to endure. I did have all the gastric ulcers, top-to-bottom, and did treat these with great success: No recurrence in 20 years.

To heal the gut, supplements are important: VitC, vitE, niacin, lysine, glycine, and vitD (especially from sunlight). Foods can also help: Okra, lychee fruit (available in Asian markets), and yoghurt (live active cultures; I recommend Brown Cow and Stonyfield Farms brands in this order) in small quantities at first. Some believe that yoghurt is low-lactose and galactose, since much of these have been consumed in the fermentation process, and goat’s milk yoghurt might be superior, if it can be found. Some of us will react to yoghurt (even at 2oz/ serving 2 servings daily), until more intestinal healing has been achieved. Colostrum can be used, and EV olive oil at 2-6 teaspoonfuls daily, GLAs as in borage seed, evening primrose, and black currant oils. Flaxseed oil and cod liver oils can also be used to total at least 11g EFAs (omega 3 essential fatty acids) daily. Zinc is especially important to intestinal health, also, and this plus magnesium citrate and calcium in any form (chelated is best) should be taken. After a few months of NSD without dairy, supplementation, and healing foods, some borderline foods might be “tested” provided we are in remission and not taking drugs.

Foods that have high-lectin content or can otherwise have adverse effects upon the intestinal lumen: Citrus juices, nightshades, fry oils, and most refined starches, especially in persons with AS.

Sorry if this is redundant—I was waiting for my internet connection to come back up after some maintenance, so had too many hours to reply…

bon appetit,
John

Hi Chelsea,
Thanks for clarifying that up for me.
Take care,
James.

Thanks John,

What you wrote, explains alot. You just single handedly explained how I made the trade off between GI misery to increased joint pains, and how my pain now shows through NSAID's, Anti-Tnf's, and hard narcotics for the last 6 months. My vitamin D deficiency made eating very hard for me, even with the most basic of foods. So while my doctor was playing around with the thought that I might have Crohn's, he saw that I was deficient, treated my for it, and said "now drink milk, drink it for the vitamin D so you can eat". So I began to drink it several times a day, and the stomach woes were decreasing as I ate, but my AS was starting to begin a slow and persistant flare. This month my right shoulder, my knees and my wrists are giving me a very hard time. My last vertabral compression hurts me almost as it did when it happened a year and a half ago. It shouldn't be doing that with the amount of meds I'm on. The answer would have to be the dairy, because that is the only, if not most dramatic, dietary change I have made in a while, considering the fact that last year I didn't eat dairy. Of course the higher sugar contents and continued long term NSAID's isn't helping either. I'm glad I used the milk as my example, and I am glad that you replied to me with this informative reply. I also now understand how NSAID's can accelerate AS activity.

I'm also glad to hear somone say why the the diet may not be effective for everyone equally, eg lactose, sugars, dysbiosis, fructose, candidiasis, NSAID's interferring etc. Up until now I felt like I had failed the diet, though not completely because I do get some pain relief. I know some other people that feel the same way, some of which have strayed away from the diet, so I hope everyone can see your response.

Thanks for sharing your personal experiences too. Without them, this would probably be harder for me to comprehend. I'm sorry to hear that you had so many GI issues in the past, but I am excited for you that you are able to say you had no reoccurances.

Good luck with your continued success.
I'd like to write more, but I have to go move around.
Thanks for all of this useful info. It's aprreciated!
Take care,
James.

Hi Sverige,
It's interesting to read about how that works, so I will bookmark this link to read again later. Honestly, I don't want I want to continue eating the foods that made me bloated (give me gas), or are higer in sugar. I only drank the milk because my doctor wanted me to, otherwise I would still be avoiding it as often as I used to because of the problems that it used to give me. I felt it was a risky thing for me to do, since milk used to aggrevate my ulcerative colitis, but I still did it anyways. I had thoughts of stopping the milk a few weeks ago, but I kept trying.

Thanks for the suggestion, it might come in handy for me later.
It will be something for me to think about.
Take care,
James.

Hi again John,
One thing I should have said earlier, is that I do think I have Candida problem. I show the syptoms plus I have what looks like large erosions and cuts in my tounge. My upper throat in inner cheeks are stingy-irritated too. I spoke to one doctor about it so far, but he thinks it's just added symptoms of having an auto-immune disease. My rheumy might know what Candida is, and he might he give me antibotics or something. I'll be seeing him soon.

I can't do the spit test right now, but I'll try as soon as nobody's around. lol.

Thanks again
James.

. . . LGS (leaky gut syndrome) and we cannot get AS—no matter what our genetics are—unless we have LGS.

????

I never knew that. Are there studies showing this? I seem to recall a study that showed lesions in a significant proportion of patients, but all?

Hey, Bill:

They found "Crohn's-like microlesions" in a majority of people with AS who were studied. The problems with this are not limited to 1) where they were looking (the terminal ileum), 2) the method used (needle biopsy?), and 3) definitive criteria.

In fact, LGS cannot always be so easily identified and quantified, but the only way the germ can trigger a secondary immune response is to actually be present in blood/lymph (actually lymph in the case of AS, and twice as probable there due to the fact there are twice as many lymph ducts on the intestinal tract as there are blood capillaries.

The thing is that in Crohn's disease, the lesions might be much higher in the alimentary process, but in Reiter's-origin AS, they are certainly lower than typical--transverse colon, for example. The researchers did not take biopsies along the entire tract, and once they got these they might not have been able to determine whether there was an actual "lesion" or just wider than normal spaces between cells.

Dr. Dean (Edell) recently made the comment about needle biopsies: "bake an olive in a loaf of bread and shove a needle into the loaf. The chances of missing the olive are greater than the chances of hitting it."

I go with the fact of IgA-Kp being produced as proof of LGS and I do not think that Ebringer would object to this characterization--but we will ask him soon.

How is the Serpentine this year?
John

DragonSlayer, I have spent hours and hours reading stuff about AS [and barely understanding any of it!] and in 2 mins I can read one of your informative posts and know and understand much more than what I can glean out of the other sites, papers, etc. You explain things in such a way that almost anyone can understand. Thank you for that, and thank you James for asking the questions.

Rita

James,

Please forgive me if I misunderstand your post. However, it sounds like you consume dairy to get the vitamin D. It also sounds like the dairy might increase your levels of pain and cause you to flare. I know dairy "does a number" on me, therefore I avoid it like the plague (except for limited amounts of yogurt with beneficial bacteria). Could you not satisfy your need for vitamin D by supplementing with Cod Liver Oil? Even for non-ASers, I think it wise to avoid almost all conventional dairy given all the chemicals that go into the cows and eventually find their way into your body.

Hi Jaybird,
You understood correctly. I have been drinking the milk just for the source of vitamin D like I was recommended, but also for a quick cold drink for when we are out every night driving (but water's good too), and because it was the base for my Carnation Instant Breakfast. (which is a pro and con type of thing to eat, which I am giving a rest too).

Cod Liver Oil sounds like a good idea, since the milk approach doesn't make me feel that good. I'll go and get some because I heard a lot of people talking about how good it is. Oh BTW, I didn't forget about the multivitamins... Wifey ran out of money too quick this week. I get my check tomorrow so I'll get to buy what I want.

Thanks for your continued help.
Take care,
James.

The thing that sold me on 100% LGS/gut damage as a pre-requisite was a study on a very very high rate of development of spondylo-apthropathies among B27 people or similar who had experienced remedial/INVASIVE operations on the GIT. For obesity mainly - from memory.

Thanks, Rita:

It means a lot to me to be able to communicate from my own experiences, since I have had the same trouble as you in understanding some of the material. I still read this stuff and scratch my head, wondering whether anybody else is getting it, or whether the authors even know anything at all about AS in the first place. Usually, it is a little of both...

Best to You,
John

John, what are your thoughts on 'colloidal silver'? It has been brought to my attention by 3 separate people on three separate occasions, keeps popping up! {One here on the site, and 2 relatives} I've read the literature given to me but....it sounds too good to be true.

I'd really appreciate any comments and knowledge that you may have regarding same.

Thanks,
Rita

Hi, Rita:

I think enough of colloidal silver to make my own; it is great stuff for getting rid of candida and killing off all kinds of other unwanted bugs. A couple of years ago I posted information on the 'bioelectrifier' that included a simple electronic schematic for producing both the colloidal Ag and doubles as a 'blood purifier,' since I had had great results with this on myself while experimenting in Philippines...

There is, in fact here in my tiny berg, a guy who is making a colloidal solution (a proprietary mix) that has the Ag plus several other things. All the indications are that his "elixer" has put serious cancers into remission, and his friend is unable to walk, due to a crushed pelvis injury, without taking his elixer. I have no idea HOW this works, but I have given some to my sister who is a microbiologist with cancer of the small bowel. So far (and this is the only change) she reports her counts are way up after two years of chemo and bone marrow transplants did not do that.

Sooo, I am a bit enthusiastic about the colloidal silver, generally, although I only take it occasionally (usually after a course of antibiotics and the verdict is not yet in on the effectiveness against Kp--or properly--AS symptoms.

Best Regards,
John