I eat Quiona, brown rice, chick peas,black beans, chicken, almond milk, gluten free cereal, apples,bananas, lemons, non starchy veggies I think that is most of my diet.
Barb
Posts: 96 | From Germantown | Registered: Mar 2010
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posted
I am on a low carb high protein diet, though I have not been sticking to it and have just figured out how to get on it properly.
I eat meat and vegetables for most meals. So far I have not given up dairy, and I take my doxy an hour and a half or two after eating, so I also eat cheese. I eat a few beans but not very often because they have a lot of carbs. I add extra fat to some things with coconut oil, organic butter or cold pressed organic olive oil, and I eat avocadoes sometimes. I try to stick to low sugar fruits--berries, stone fruits, apples and melons, but no tropical fruits. I eat nuts and fruit and cheese and sometimes a little dark chocolate for snacks. I drink filtered water, decaf green tea, detox lemonade made with stevia and the juice of a whole lemon per glass, and club soda (which I found in cans at Kroger, and helps when I wish for a soda).
I stay away from sugar, flour, trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, MSG, artificial sweeteners, and all grains. If I cheat a bit, I try to cheat with bananas, potatoes, corn and whole gluten free grains rather than refined flour and sugar, and everything organic if possible. Sometimes I cheat with ice cream or cheesecake sweetened with maltitol, because it will have a minimal impact on my blood sugar at least.
I would like to try going gluten free while on the low carb diet, but almost all the gluten free products I have found just substitute different carbs for the wheat, and often contain sugar and other chemicals too. My belief is that a gluten free diet can help us a lot, but is only effective if you stick to it 100% of the time.
The low carb (=less fluctuations of glucose and minimal extra sugar to feed yeast and Lyme) diet has positive effects even if you don't stick to it completely, and I have insulin resistance so it helps with that. You do have to stay on it continuously rather than going completely off it and back on every other week or something, because when you first start, your body needs a few days to get used to burning more fat and less glucose for energy. You also lose the excess water that carbs make you retain, and as a result your electrolytes are a bit off for a few days, and you can feel tired or a bit flu-like for 2 or 3 days.
After that you will probably feel great, but you don't want to go through that repeatedly, so it takes a bit of planning and commitment to do low carb.
The low carb diet is great at reducing systemic inflammation, which contributes to some of our symptoms, in addition to regulating blood sugar and reducing the sugar available to yeast and Lyme.
It's not for everyone--some people feel better eating whole grains, and people with hypoglycemia, food allergies, kidney problems, or other issues can't do it. Vegetarians can do low carb, but it is a challenge to get a high enough amount of protein. It's been a godsend for me, so it's worth considering whether it could work for you.
I could not keep up with cooking and washing dishes and planning, though cooking everything yourself is the healthiest way to do things. I have recently discovered a Whole Foods store with an enormous deli of cooked food and various packaged cooked meats that are all organic or local and without extra sugar and chemicals. Currently I am buying prepared food there in order to stick to this diet. Diet-to-go also offers a low carb plan for meal delivery, though it's expensive and I haven't tried it, so I don't know if it's any good.
When I'm herxing or feeling really fatigued, it is wonderful to have food that I can just grab from the fridge and eat, or pop in the microwave for a couple of minutes first.
Good luck to you. It is a lot of trial and error to figure out what works best for each person.
-------------------- Don't forget to laugh! And when you're going through hell, keep going!
Bitten 5/25/2009 in Perry County, Indiana. Diagnosed by LLMD 12/2/2009. Posts: 756 | From Inside the tunnel | Registered: Jan 2010
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lightparfait
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 22022
posted
Notes from Dr. K's seminar on diet:
Proteins: A high protein diet is only good for healthy people....healthy people only get good results on mostly protein. Sick people do this thinking it is best...and get sicker or relapses and wonder why.
Protein acidifies your body and the bugs get "happy" in an acid environment. Therefore, people with lyme (bugs), do not do well on a high protein diet. Follow the lyme diet...which is low protein and lots of good vegetables, carbs.
Check you PH regularly, and adjust your diet when necessary to maintain a healthy balance.
Urine: healthy range (6.0 - 6.4) less than 6.0 is acid more than 6.4 is alkaline
Saliva : healthy range ( 6.5 - 6.9) less than 6.5 is acid
Posts: 1009 | From NJ | Registered: Aug 2009
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Many LLMDs want their patients to be gluten-free.
Checking pH balance is good. However, in my experience I need more protein, not less. The problem is that people think high protein means some horrible diet like the Atkins.
It's about balance - and the kind of proteins with organic foods, etc. There are many wonderful non-gluten whole grains.
QUINOA is one of the best. BLACK FORBIDDEN RICE and RED RICE, too. They have a good protein balance and are much better than brown rice (White rice is out of the question as it's just like sugar).
You also have AMARANTH, MILLET, BUCKWHEAT (really a legume), WILD RICE (really a grass). In small to moderate amounts, these supply good nutrients and help the vegetables to maintain a good steady blood glucose level longer.
Get to know LEGUMES (Beans). And if you eat meat or eggs, get from organically fed, free range. Fish should be WILD caught and be sure to look up mercury content. WILD SALMON, SARDINES are very good. We need that kind of protein.
VEGGIES are best ORGANIC as it's less toxic load on your liver.
DARK BERRIES and TART APPLES are lower on the glycemic index, therefore, better.
NUTS are great sources of protein and fats.
If you have enough protein (and that is combined with good veggies and other complex carbs - and good fats) your body will not crave simple carbs.
Protein helps our bodies make glutathione and that helps the liver detox . . . protein's amino acids help our brain, our hearts, our muscles, etc.
Taurine (found mostly in muscle meats) is vital, too. Vegetarians and vegans should consider supplementing taurine, as well as B-12 and L-Carnitine. -------------------
THE REQUIREMENTS OF PROTEIN & AMINO ACID DURING ACUTE & CHRONIC INFECTION . . . - 20 pages
Anura V. Kurpad - Institute of Population Health & Clinical Research, Bangalore, India 129. Indian J Med Res 124, August 2006, pp 129-148.
Excerpt:
" . . . In general, the amount of EXTRA protein that would appear to be needed is of the order of 20-25 per cent of the recommended intake, for most infections. . . ."
- Full article at link (or google the title if it does not go through). -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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