An article on eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorder (EGID) which is a rare form of food intolerance offers a helpful idea for Lymenet members who are having serious difficulties with multiple food intolerances. The article is too lengthy to post in its entirety, but here's a link to it:
This article suggests that a liquid elemental dietary formula is beneficial for helping these patients recover, and that's the main point that I want to emphasize by posting this article on EIGD because I've observed that there are several current topics posted by Lymenet members who are dealing with other serious food intolerances.
Here is a link to a website which offers a liquid elementary dietary product which has helped a personal friend of mine who relied on it exclusively without any other food intake for the better part of this last year.
My friend succeeded in weaning off of high dose steroids prescribed for her severe case of ulcerative colitis, and she is able to eat normally again now, thanks to this liquid dietary formula. She claims that it saved her life, and I know her well enough to know that she is not exaggerating in the least about this. (Her husband is a close colleague of my husband, and we have been good friends for nearly thirty years.)
Furthermore, I tasted a sample of this elemental dietary formula myself and I can attest that it is pleasant tasting and quite acceptable in flavor when sipped slowly through a straw, as recommended.
One other important note about this product is that many very ill patients prefer the flavor which does not include any added fructose because it is more easily tolerated than the other flavors. (That's the flavor that I tasted.)
My friend likes to mix one scoop of one of the flavored formulas (chocolate, vanilla or blueberry) which do contain fructose, together with three scoops of the unsweetened version, into 8 ounces of water because she finds that this is a perfect combination for her in order to prevent getting tired of the same monotonous plain flavor, but without its being too sweet for her tastes.
As I stated already, my friend used this product exclusively as her only source of nutrition for several months before attempting to try eating any solid food again. She was able to continue working full time throughout her ordeal.
My friend still continues to consume this liquid formula for her evening meal because it is so easily digestible when she is tired at the end of a long day of work and because she sleeps so well at night when her body is not having to work so hard to digest regular food.
In fact, she travelled half-way around the world to visit her family in Sri Lanka for two weeks over the Christmas holidays by relying on this liquid elemental dietary formula entirely, without any other source of food, throughout her entire trip, including the long 24-hour travel period each way.
Absorb Plus is not cheap, but it is much less costly than other similar elementary dietary formulas which require a doctor's prescription. It is also vastly superior in nutritional quality to popular OTC products like Ensure or Glucerna which are not intended to be relied upon indefinitely as one's sole source of nutrition.
TXLM
PS - I'm editing in order to correct a typo by changing EIGD to EGID (esophageal gastrointestinal disorder). It's important to get this term exactly right in case anyone wants to learn more about it via an internet search. There are some additional resources about it also that are suggested within the original USNWR article which is found in the first link above.
[ 03-16-2016, 10:54 AM: Message edited by: TX Lyme Mom ]
Posted by WPinVA (Member # 33581) on :
This is great info!
And even more info here: www.apfed.org Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Looks interesting, TXLYM but I don't think it would work for me. I am sensitive to anything that contains salicylates. Berries, vanilla, etc would be out.
For now, I'm able to eat enough foods to be somewhat healthy. So far.
Thanks.. I hope someone here will benefit from the info.
Posted by Razzle (Member # 30398) on :
My Husband has EGID, so I've done a fair amount of research on this condition.
Some in the EGID patient community have found anti-parasite treatment or mold treatment has caused their EGID to go away. It would not surprise me if Babesia or Protomyxzoa or even Lyme could cause or aggravate EGID...
Posted by WPinVA (Member # 33581) on :
Razzle, would you kindly post some of the info you've found on the parasite-EGID link? thanks!
Posted by Robin123 (Member # 9197) on :
All the gut summits I've watched indicate food allergies could be due to leaky gut, ie permeability of the gut lining such that food gets through that shouldn't and then the immune system attacks it. They say we have to heal the gut lining. For more info, google leaky gut.
Posted by Catgirl (Member # 31149) on :