me
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Member # 45475
posted
So, I'm making progress (yay). Still a long road ahead of me (sniff). Has anyone tried reintroducing gluten and milk products (specifically casine) *back* into their diet as they began to see progress? If so, what were the results?
Posts: 1431 | From USA | Registered: Mar 2015
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Keebler
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- I would never dream of going back to gluten, ever, even if I were not celiac.
Have you had a GENETIC work up for celiac with a reliable gene testing lab?
Please rethink this even if you don't have genetic celiac. There are other very serious conditions that gluten can cause even for someone not celiac. Gluten can cause multiple issues for those who are not yet in a good solid remission.
And it can cause damage to the brain up to six months after one exposure.
Anything you want can be found in a gluten free way. Tell me what dish or certain food you want, and I'll bet I have a good GF way to achieve that.
Dairy, however, each time I try I get immediate sinus blockage and phlegm.
The problem is that, for most, dairy causes phlegm and that can impede health for anyone. Germs find safe harbor in phlegm. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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WPinVA
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posted
Yes, I do eat some dairy off and on. Mostly yogurt and cheese. Hardly any milk. Also some ice cream (yes I know that's not good).
When I'm feeling ok, I can handle it. But when I get knocked down, I need to take it out again. I also take it out automatically anytime I get a cold because it increases mucous production.
On the plus side, eating the yogurt does make yeast control easier.
I don't think I'll try gluten anytime soon.
Posts: 1737 | From Virginia | Registered: Aug 2011
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MannaMe
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posted
My husband uses goats milk with no problems.
He has been drinking kefir made with cows milk. He does eat cows milk yogurt also. Sometimes it seems cows milk is okay, then other times he feels better with out it.
We tried some Jersey cows milk instead of Holstein cow milk. Wish we could get Jersey milk regularly. The farmer we know doesn't sell raw milk. He gave us 2 quarts to try.
On gluten: he can eat some occasionally without a problem. But too much, too often and he feels like his digestive system 'sludges up'. So he stays pretty much gluten free.
Posts: 2249 | From USA | Registered: Aug 2011
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posted
I never felt a difference on or off caseine. I added it back after six months to test it.
I do not do well on gluten.
Both are inflammatory, so I'd stay off them if you're still pretty sick.
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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Judie
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posted
I do fine with dairy and gluten. I healed and didn't do a special diet except for avoiding much sugar and fried food.
Everyone is different. My body actually thrives on dairy. when I tried the anti-inflammatory diet, I was allergic to a lot of substitutes for dairy and gluten-free.
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
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posted
- Judie brings up a good point about alternate "milks" - be aware that so many are just full of additives and in cartons that are lined with Teflon-like coating - and that seeps into the liquid.
None of the commercial other milks worked for me. However, it's easy to make my own walnut / pecan milk. The softer nuts will work in most good blenders and do not require pre-soaking. Harder ones like almonds require soaking and a high powered blender like VitaMix or BlendTec.
As for the occasional GF pasta, TINKYADA makes a very nice organic brown rice pasta. Beware of some GF pasta made with corn, though, as corn can cause inflammation, especially in the ears. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Brussels
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posted
Take goat milk products or sheep milk products. Much better and less allergenic than any cow milk product.
We take both (also cow milk) but we do do not have lyme anymore.
I was fed up of dieting during lyme treatment and I did take cow milk products (not pure milk though), like yoghurt and cheese.
And during lyme, I avoided wheat in all forms, as it tested bad for me. I took though spelt, that is MUCH tastier than wheat. I love spelt. It does have gluten though.
During lyme, I ate less spelt than today (no more lyme). I do feel better without gluten, but my life would be harder to live without spelt (pastas, pastries, bread,... they are fantastic, much better than wheat.
I find that avoiding sugar and alcohol made me feel much better during lyme too. Anything feeding candida will feed borrelia, in my feeling.
Posts: 6199 | From Brussels | Registered: Oct 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
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posted
- As Brussels says, some do much better with sheep or goat milk / cheeses. Just be sure they can graze on chemical free pastures, have the very best attention (cleaning underneath and such) during milking time, etc. If you have a local producer, call for a visit. Many really love to see their customers.
Some considerations for bovine dairy products.
My top concern is the condition and practices of how the milk is obtained - is it clean and are the cows properly cleaned underneath with poop managed correctly - seriously, some (not all) places the cows are pooping while being milked and there is no way to really keep that separate . . . try to go see or get a video of the milking procedures from the diaries where you would obtain your milk.
Sidebar: When a lifetime of suffering, medical visits and prescription drugs can be resolved with a not especially challenging dietary change, a certain amount of retroactive frustration seems justifiable.
Not surprisingly, experiences like mine with dairy, outlined in my column of two weeks ago, are more common than unusual, at least according to the roughly 1,300 comments and e-mails we received since then.
In them, people outlined their experiences with dairy and health problems as varied as heartburn, migraines, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, eczema, acne, hives, asthma (``When I gave up dairy, my asthma went away completely''),
- full article at link above. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
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posted
- There are some very good articles here about gluten considerations, too. "Wheat, the Modern Poison" is one of those in this set:
Many varieties. Certified Gluten Free facility. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
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posted
- Regular Quinoa, Black Quinoa, Red Quinoa
Millet
Amaranth
Buckwheat groats
Brown, Black, Red, Wild Rice [and each of these has many varieties as well]
Chinese Black Forbidden Rice is so full of nutrients, antioxidants and excellent on the glycemic index. And it really helps me maintain a good steady blood glucose when enjoyed with a balanced meal.
and there may be a few other naturally GF seeds / grain "like" items that I can't think of right now.
Oats - IF from a certified GF facility. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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me
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posted
Thanks for the responses. Why is it that gluten and milk are inflammatory even if you don't have a gluten or casein intolerance?
It is debatable about whether I have a gluten and casein intolerance. When I had a colonoscopy and endoscopy several years ago (I was eating gluten and casein), I did not test positive on the blood or biopsy test.
However, it showed I had an autoimmune response to both when I sent a stool sample to Entero Labs, and a nutritionist said I had either celiacs or an intolerance. All other docs have basically scoffed at that. Nonetheless, I went gf and cf. I dunno what to believe.
Due to some meds I'm on, I have an increased appetite and crave things with gluten and casein.
I had a colonoscopy and endoscopy the other day and have been pretty strict gf and cf. However, a few days before it, I ate gluten and casein for a few days. The doc took a biopsy to a check for celiacs. He said it may show up if I have celiacs since I had gluten for a few days. I dunno how reliable that info is?? What do you'll think? It seems to me you would need more of a build up.
Posts: 1431 | From USA | Registered: Mar 2015
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Judie
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I do well with cashew milk. It's the only milk alternative that doesn't make me ill. I do okay with regular milk too.
My body does well with yogurt, kefir and cheese. It really depends on what agrees with your body.
What works for one person doesn't work for another.
Beans and soy are very inflammatory for me and when I look at the anti-inflammatory diets, it says to have 1-2 servings per day. I also do terrible with seafood.
Brussels
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posted
You know, after years following this forum, I think everyone who went wheat free, sugar free, alcohol free said they felt better.
I think these 3 things are sort of devil for lyme, somehow.
Every time I got lyme again, I felt tired after wheat, alcohol and sugar, so I stopped them altogether.
Today I take all of these things again and feel very good on certain beers, certain wines, and sugar is not a problem if coming at least with some nutrients (like in jams, or fruits).
But wheat, nope. Wheat feels like very hard to be digested, compared with spelt. I'd rather eat those tasteless gluten free things than take wheat.
I do energy testing for food, for many years. Wheat tests good for NO ONE. It's like white sugar: it tests good for no one.
If you see how much gluten modern wheat has (it's about 1/3 of the dough), you will understand why it is so hard to digest. Gluten is glue-like, has no nutritional function... Try other grains, rice, oat, spelt and see?
during lyme, wheat takes all my energy away. Like alcohol (wine, beer etc). The precious energy that we need for healing. It is not worth, in my opinion.
There is also buckwheat that is delicious in my opinion (totally gluten free).
Posts: 6199 | From Brussels | Registered: Oct 2007
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me
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Great feedback, everyone. Thank you. I can do gf, casein free, and alcohol free. I don't think I have the willpower to do sugar free, to be honest.
I just hate the taste of gf and cf stuff, even after years of eating it. Oh well, maybe I will be able to eat these things if I get well.
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Brussels
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My rule of thumb is: everything you cannot drop, it means you are addicted to it.
If you are addicted, it means, the thing controls your brain. Not the opposite.
It means, in the end, the thing is harming you.
But that is just a rule of thumb. I know sugar is extremely addictive, and so are carbs and alcohol.
Being able to let go everything, because there are alternatives, and yummy alternatives, gave me a degree of freedom I wouldn't imagine before.
Freedom and the feeling that I am controlling what I want to eat, not the food controlling me.
With that sort of control, I could take all those awful herbs, bitter stuff, everything, in amazing amounts, daily, for months, years.
Then finally, be lyme free. It sort of required a discipline of a zen warrior! But it paid back.
And certainly, many things, you may eat without controlling, if you get healthy again.
I do take alcohol from times to times, I do eat an apple cake, chocolate, ice cream from times to times. But I can stop anytime, if needed. I have total control on that, and when I notice I'm losing control, I stop the thing again, just to check!!
I don't do that to suffer. I do that because that sort of attitude helped me out of lyme. Without absolute discipline, I wouldn't have made it. I don't think so.
And that sort of freedom I told above, you can only get when you know you are the brain of your stomach, not the opposite.
Posts: 6199 | From Brussels | Registered: Oct 2007
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me
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Thanks so much, Brussels.
Posts: 1431 | From USA | Registered: Mar 2015
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quote:Originally posted by me: Thanks for the responses. Why is it that gluten and milk are inflammatory even if you don't have a gluten or casein intolerance?
posted
I always tried to have a balanced alimentation and that is why I replaced butter milk with home-made yogurt. It was a new discovery for me and I enjoyed a lot cooking it. But also, I should highlight the fact that it is hard to cook it when you don’t have the necessary tools. I want to recommend you the best thermometers for making yogurts https://www.thewindupspace.com/best-thermometer-for-yoghurt-making/ . I purchased one of these amazing thermometers at a very good price.
posted
I've heard that when strands of gluten enter the blood stream, the immune system doesn't recognize them as food and attacks.
The lining in the knee joints are said to resemble gluten, so get attacked also.
I can't prove this, but can always tell when I have gotten gluten in my system because my knees get painful, weak, and swollen.
Looking on the internet for recipes, and purchasing cookbooks that specialize in replacing products like gluten are well worth looking for.
There's also more and more products available that avoid the problem ingredients.
I can vouch for Brussel's statement about problem foods being addictive.
Endorphins are released when the brain knows there is pain. Even if we are not conscious of a food causing a problem, we get the "feel good" endorphins.
I just couldn't believe anyone could last a day without bread or pasta.
When I went without gluten for a few weeks, it was very obvious when I did eat some again that it caused damage.
Posts: 552 | From New Mexico, USA | Registered: May 2007
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Brussels
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Thank you Daisy. Are you managing without gluten?
It took me MORE than 10 years to be fully gluten free.
Yesterday the neighbor did an apple pie and I ate just one small piece, after months without any gluten, even about a year, I think?
I had tummy pain the whole evening....
Milk products, butter included (my beloved butter), any milk product (even goat, sheep, etc), and EGGS: taking off these 3 items from my life was the best present my body received in the whole 5 decades of life.
No regrets. My eyes got better, joints practically without any problem, no more brain fog for almost 2 years, no more fatigue, everything heals.
All the crappy diseases that followed me since my early childhood are going away, one by one, slowly but surely.
Now I don't miss gluten anymore. Not at all. I enjoy my potatoes or other grains (such as rice), in smaller amounts.
The addictions are all FULLY GONE, for a long time. Even from butter, that I thought was going to be the hardest.
It was the easiest, in fact. The hardest for me was gluten, no doubt. Everything else was easy to drop!!
Wishing you all good luck in avoiding these inflammatory foods.
They are NOT WORTHY!!!
Posts: 6199 | From Brussels | Registered: Oct 2007
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posted
It took effort, and trial and error, but now I have a lot of recipes that are great. I don't miss gluten.
I've gone without milk products a few times, and don't seem to have a problem. I do stick to butter, cream, and cheese. There's substitutes for cooking, like almond milk, and tofu.
Eggs are a challenge, because there really is no substitute for them. I do have mixes that call for eggs and I use mozzarella instead. It holds things together, and adds protein, but doesn't fluff up like eggs do.
I still miss eggs. Twice I've gone without eggs for well over 7 years. I can eat them for a few weeks and then the migraine headaches start again.
Before the pandemic, I enjoyed going to restaurants, but I always felt I had gotten a little gluten. Some restaurants were worse than others. Since the pandemic started, I rarely eat something that I haven't made myself. I am healthier for it.
If you can't cook with butter, here's something: roast duck. If a decent source is found, 1-2 cups of fat can be rendered.
Duck fat is as healthy as coconut oil, or nearly, and as tasty as bacon grease. Duck itself is usually natural. It's somewhat like the dark meat of turkey.
It seems that when I have purchased duck that comes with a plastic bag of la'orange sause it's been no good. There's lots of fat, but it's not tasty at all.
A lot of the products that cause trouble are the proteins, like gluten, egg whites and casein. Gluten is hard to digest, and as for casein, cave paintings in France have lasted for thousands of years, and they were painted with casein.
Diet is very important to us with lyme disease. We have to eat as though food is medicine or poison, not just for enjoyment.
Posts: 552 | From New Mexico, USA | Registered: May 2007
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Brussels
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posted
I agree, diet is so important, but the problem is, which diet to do?
The worst diet I ever tried was keto. Second, paleo.
I think high fat, high protein is even worse than gluten, in my case. The feeling I had about a week on keto was literally like dying.
Since then, I wondered why. The reason, in my case, was that the liver was my worst organ.
Any excess fats / proteins, both hard to digest, made my liver very stressed and the alarm it raised in my brain was literally death alarm.
I never had that with any diet. I could stuff myself with gluten, cheese, eggs and never felt that. The moment I went only on high fat, high protein, it was a crazy feeling.
So now, I'm on the EXACT opposite diet of keto: I'm on an extremely low fat, reasonably low protein, and extremely high fruit, leafy greens, raw veggies and potatoes.
This is what I've been doing for almost EXACTLY 2 years now (I started Nov 30 2018). since then, no eggs, no milk products.
I never noticed anything particular with the sole milk products I was taking until that date: butter / cream and some fresh goat cheese, on and off.
I never had any tummy pain, no skin problems... The only symptoms I noticed was that my chilblains would flare after putting some cream in my coffee.
So I never really stopped taking milk products.
But when I did, after 4 months, ALL MY FOOD ALLERGIES disappeared. And for my daughter, about 95% of her food allergies also disappeared.
Since then I can eat everything (out of my NO list), no more allergies. And on top, I stopped losing weight. I was so thin, that if I continued going like that, I don't think I would have survived too many years....
Now it's all past. My weight stabilized, no more food allergies, and I keep on healing joints, chilblains, my body temperature is now around 36 C, while before it was 35C, max 35.5C... It's crazy.
Posts: 6199 | From Brussels | Registered: Oct 2007
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