posted
Ok. I am really desperate to get fixed so my LLMD and I agree that my diet needs to change. My head symptoms are likely caused by severe inflammation (my TNF inflamatory markers are off the charts). He suggested just cutting out refined sugars, reducing carbs and dairy.
I will say it's going to be challenging. My last week's diet included:
* A philly soft pretzel * 2 x 3rd pounder with bacon and cheese from McDs * Organic honey nut cheerios cereal (with soy milk) * Sugar free tasty cake cookie bars (I eat these pretty much every day for breakfast with a green pear) * One cup of coffee in the am with splenda and creamer (will start to use soy) * Meatballs and nachos at a poker game * Breaded tilapia and stuffed flounder (crab meat) * Sour kraut and ribs (without BBQ sauce) made in a crock pot (ate this for 3 meals last week) * Comments welcome on above. I know that the nachos, pretzel and McDs burgers are probably no good but what about some of the rest?
I do take plenty of probiotics but I've known deep down that my diet has to change.
I am pretty good about seeking out sugar free products but my diet is chock full of carbs which I'd like to cut down. At issue is that I run 20-25 miles a week and don't want to feel *unfueled*.
I am a 46 year old male who works in the financial services industry so often I am eating on the run. On occasion I try to bring in my lunch but will not always be able to do that. There is a decent salad bar in our cafeteria which I will try to take advantage of more. I am looking for some practical suggestions on easing into my new diet. I know many will think I'm crazy for not having changed anything sooner but you don't know how much I like to eat *normal* (for the average American which would include cheesesteaks, pizza, wings, etc.). I cannot be the only lymey who has not been able to change their diet, can I? This is going to be hard for me and long overdue.
I would like to hear some practical suggestions on how to change long ingrained food habits. Can I eat anything from subway for example? What types of fast food would be ok? What do other work force members do to stick to their diets?
Help!
-------------------- dx in Dec 2003 tested 2x positive for bart Lightly Chelating 3 weeks off abx and 1 week on:
10 day course a month: Plaq/Ceftin/Rifampin/Biaxin with Tindamax on last two days Posts: 187 | From PA | Registered: Apr 2008
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Keebler
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- You might want to find out what goes into that McD's hamburger and the living conditions of the cattle they use. You can make a far better one yourself with organic beef that is ground fresh at your local market.
Also, you might research exactly what "American Cheese" is that you find at most fast foods stores. Not only is it not cheese, it is not really food, in the best sense of the word.
You can stop in your local market and get real cheese. But, cheese really adds to inflammation so you might want to reach for some cashews or macadamia nuts. Raw, not roasted - unless you toast them at home immediately before eating.
Cheerios = pure simple sugar. No matter how they market it. It's hard but I would drop the cheerios and all processed cereals. Totally. A long-cooking oatmeal will serve you better.
But - baked salmon, kale, a carrot and black rice would be a FAR better breakfast. Or a curried chicken lentil soup with a touch of coconut milk. Hot or cold. Yes, for breakfast.
I know I must sound like a drill instructor here but, really, ALL processed foods must go out the window (and then not come back in through the car window). There are many real, whole foods that are delicious and good for us. Many.
To avoid inflammation:
Avoid: gluten; dairy; corn and soy for a while. You may be able to add back a little soy and see how you do but it's best to avoid gluten, dairy and corn for many reasons. They often cause pain from inflammation.
No processed foods. That simple rule cuts out simple carbs.
No artificial anything. That cuts out dyes, additives and artificial sweeteners, especially aspartame which is toxic to the brain.
MSG - google for all the names of that. Toxic.
Stevia (from a plant) is okay to use as a sweetener but be sure it's pure. Truvia is NOT.
Limit starchy vegetables but load up on all others. Low sugar fruits like berries and tart apples are necessary, actually, for nutrients and fiber. Best if eaten after a meal.
About every other week, someone posts that they are trying to go "no carbs" - but feel weak from it. Whether by too strict of a definition or whatever, "no carbs" can be dangerous. Vegetables of all types are carbs.
We NEED carbohydrates to live, brain tissue, especially needs the calories. It's the complex ones, though - not simple.
We also need the fiber that good carbs provide. Without that fiber, we become more toxic. The antioxidants in vegetables are also invaluable to helping control pain and inflammation.
And there are some very good non-gluten whole (complex) grains that have such great mineral and protein content that they can work very well for lyme patients, in the right proportion and with vegetables, proteins and good fats.
Here are some good cookbooks & sites - adaptations can be easily made with these. You might consider growing kitchen herbs so you have fresh rosemary, basil, fennel, etc. at your fingertips. --------------------
CHRISTINA COOKS - Natural health advocate/ chef, Christina Pirello offers her comprehensive guide to living the well life.
Vegan, with a Mediterranean flair. Organic.
She was dx with terminal leukemia in her mid-twenties. Doctors said there was nothing more they could do. Among other things, she learned about complementary medicine and she learned how to cook whole foods. She recovered her health and is now a chef and professor of culinary arts.
She has program on the PBS network "Create" a couple times week. Check your PBS schedule.
To adapt: in the rare dishes where she uses wheat flour, it can just be left out for a fruit medley, etc. Brown Rice Pasta can be substituted (Tinkyada or Trader Joe's). Quinoa and the dark rices can also be used.
But she focuses mostly on very filling vegetable dishes and garden herbs.
Regarding her use of brown rice syrup, just leave it out and add a touch of stevia at the end.
From Nina Simonds, the best-selling authority on Asian cooking, comes a ground-breaking cookbook based on the Asian philosophy of food as health-giving. The 200 delectable recipes she offers you not only taste superb but also have specific healing . . . .
. . . With an emphasis on the health-giving properties of herbs and spices, this book gives the latest scientific research as well as references to their tonic properties according to Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda, the traditional Indian philosophy of medicine. . . .
THE CURE IS IN THE KITCHEN, by Sherry A. Rogers M.D., is the first book to ever spell out in detail what all those people ate day to day who cleared their incurable diseases . . .
FROM CURRIES TO KEBABS - RECIPES FROM THE INDIAN SPICE TRAIL - by: Jaffrey, Madhur
==========================
Also look for MOOSEWOOD Cookbooks and THE ENCHANTED BROCCOLI FOREST
==========================
MEDITERRANEAN DIET (minus the wheat and the wine) is also good. It's many vegetable based, with delicious herbs in the meat dishes. Quinoa, dark rices - and unsweetened pomegranate juice can be substituted.
Look up Black Forbidden Chinese Rice & the Red Bhutanese Rice. The nutritional content is excellent and these will help fill and fortify you, even in moderation, along with lots of vegetables.
[ 08-26-2010, 01:54 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
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Keebler
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- Now, the part where you said you mostly eat on the run has not been lost on me.
You will have to learn to cook - or pay someone to do it for you. You will have to bring your own foods but you can also scout out the various healthful and ethnic options around where you work.
Find out what is in the Subway meat choices? Where do the animals come from? What are their living conditions and what is added to the meat as the process it?
Same with their salads? Are sulfites added?
Where can you get a bowl of lentil soup? A chicken breast? A real sit-down meal. It's not good to eat on the run and most of that stuff is loaded with killer fats, literally.
Even if you can't sit down at a restaurant and eat a good meal, have them deliver. But find places that do not use MSG. Bring food from home and heat at your office. But, sit down in a nice environment and stop working.
There may be other options. If not, make them happen. Get a group of people together and do pot luck lunches with the stipulation that all ingredients must be pure. Really. After having a good laugh over this, please consider the importance of this.
If we can't find some time to cook or eat right - we really don't have time to live, then, either. Nothing is more important to our lives than the nutrients that we provide to our bodies. Air, water, food, shelter. It's right up there at the top. You deserve to take the time to get real food that will enhance your life, not destroy it.
If you can't find the time to learn to cook, please hire someone to do this for you. It's either that or hire someone to care for heart attack patients confined to bed. We either put in the effort now - or find someone who can help us in health -- or find someone who will be able to tend to us in sickness.
It pretty much comes down to that. With every meal comes the decision: will this nourish me or bring me closer to heart disease or diabetes? With every meal, that is our decision. And it's not just for lyme patients. This is the question that most people are hiding from every day.
Now, if I were Queen of the world, I would stop the presses. Stop all work and just send everyone to gardening classes, cooking school, massage school, Tai Chi classes, song circles and art museums. We have failed in a basic education of how the body works. We need to start over.
But, you are not alone and this is not just about lyme. My guess is that you have many around you who ARE eating well and have found ways to make this work for them. You might ask your HR director to connect you to anyone they know.
You might suggest your company bring in the chef, Christina Pirello -- she's right there in Pennsylvania (either Pittsburgh or Philly).
Search out all the TED TALKS about nutrition. Invite them in - or arrange for a few of your coworkers to watch a lecture every other day for a month.
Cardiovascular disease kills more people than everything else combined -- and it's mostly preventable. Dr. Dean Ornish explains how changing our eating habits will save lives.
In this fiery and funny talk, New York Times food writer Mark Bittman weighs in on what's wrong with the way we eat now (too much meat, too few plants; too much fast food, too little home cooking), and why it's putting the entire planet at risk.
Video: A 20-minute TED lecture (Dec. 2007)
===========================
Why those with lyme and Cpn are at greater risk for heart disease and diabetes - and what you can do about (adrenal support; diet).
posted
Thanks Keebler. I know I have a long way to go. Is Splenda acceptable as a sweetener?
Bubba burgers ok? Anyone do that research?
I assume a lot of the Amy Foods products are ok?
I like Lentil soup - my Mom actual makes a decent one. Maybe I can get her to hook me up.
How about egg beater omelets with green peppers, onions and ham (scrapple is a favorite - is that out? - Turkey bacon ok?
How about Mexican food minus the corn (which I hate anyway so easy for me to lose that)? Carne asada? Cutting out all processed foods is going to near impossible for me. I told my wife I was going to change my diet and she was like, what dairy do you eat? I told her cheese, skim milk on occasion, etc etc and she was like that's doesn't sound like a lot. Then I said I still eat a lot of carbs and she didn't think I did. We have three kids and they all eat horribly (Elios, Hot dogs, Chicken mystery meat nuggets, Mac and cheese etc.). I do eat separately from them usually but now it's pretty much guaranteed that we won't be eating the same thing.
I can cook ok - I like Indian Food a lot so maybe I can load up on that. Curry ok? Palak peneer (although this has cheese---doh!). I am also a chronic chip and dip alohic. I am in for a long uphill battle.
I am not heavy BTW. I'm actually quite thin. You would think I would be heavier after having just described my diet. A lot of it is attributed to my religious running 5 days a week though and not my diet.
I am accepting homemade ``lyme'' acceptable meals. Send to.......
-------------------- dx in Dec 2003 tested 2x positive for bart Lightly Chelating 3 weeks off abx and 1 week on:
10 day course a month: Plaq/Ceftin/Rifampin/Biaxin with Tindamax on last two days Posts: 187 | From PA | Registered: Apr 2008
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Keebler
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- Since you live in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia may just be calling you. I bet I could talk your boss into paying for you and 2 others to go take at least the 3-day course. Seriously.
The Christina Pirello School of Natural Cooking and Integrative Health Studies
Learn to cook your way to the life you want with Christina Pirello, the internationally-acclaimed authority on whole foods.
Christina's unique educational programs and teaching style will change your relationship with food and make healthy cooking and living second nature.
Contact us for more information at 1-800-939-3909 or email us at: [email protected].
Christina offers three different study programs
* Demonstration classes * The three-day Intensive Study Program * The six-month Cooking and Integrative Health Studies Program
* Demonstration classes
Offered once monthly at the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College in Philadelphia (4100 Walnut Street), these self-contained classes cover a variety of topics. Christina's style of teaching is fun, entertaining and informative. . . .
Each $30.00 class runs 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and includes handouts and a complete meal.
Past classes have covered everything from Heart Health to Breaking the Sugar Addiction Once and For All to Loving Your Lover and Holiday Cooking.
The Restaurant School provides free parking to all participants of this program.
* The three-day Intensive Study Program
Held at the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College, this one-of-a-kind program is designed to gain the knowledge you need to get started on the path of healthy cooking.
Combining lecture, demonstration and hands-on classes over the three-day period, Christina will have you cooking healthfully in no time.
You'll study the energetics of food, knife skills, cutting styles, menu-planning, diagnosis and more.
Call us for more information at 1-800-939-3909.
See link for: The six-month Cooking and Integrative Health Studies Program
================
Also check out your PBS "CREATE" channel for her show listings. -
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Keebler
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- Is Splenda acceptable as a sweetener? No. It is artificial.
STEVIA is, however, as that is from a plant. But get it pure. Truvia has additives.
And even skinny people can have fatty liver and fatty arteries. Just be aware of that. Fatty & processed meats can kill skinny people, too. Processed meats are the absolute worst for the inside of our heart, regardless of a person's weight.
If you like Mexican food, check out Rick Bayless. He's wonderful. He's in Chicago but also has a cooking show on PBS.
Amy Foods are pretty nice but so expensive and really very small portions. If you have added vegetables, her black eye pea dish is very nice. Some of her choices are gluten free, but not all of them. -
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TerryK
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Nothing that I ate from the below list is lyme acceptable? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
A philly soft pretzel * 2 x 3rd pounder with bacon and cheese from McDs * Organic honey nut cheerios cereal (with soy milk) * Sugar free tasty cake cookie bars (I eat these pretty much every day for breakfast with a green pear) * One cup of coffee in the am with splenda and creamer (will start to use soy) * Meatballs and nachos at a poker game * Breaded tilapia and stuffed flounder (crab meat) * Sour kraut and ribs (without BBQ sauce) made in a crock pot (ate this for 3 meals last week)
-------------------- dx in Dec 2003 tested 2x positive for bart Lightly Chelating 3 weeks off abx and 1 week on:
10 day course a month: Plaq/Ceftin/Rifampin/Biaxin with Tindamax on last two days Posts: 187 | From PA | Registered: Apr 2008
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posted
Ok - I will head over to Trader Joe's soon. What should be on my list? Do they sell Stevia?
-------------------- dx in Dec 2003 tested 2x positive for bart Lightly Chelating 3 weeks off abx and 1 week on:
10 day course a month: Plaq/Ceftin/Rifampin/Biaxin with Tindamax on last two days Posts: 187 | From PA | Registered: Apr 2008
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Keebler
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- Yes, actually, Trader's Joe's little canister of stevia is pure stevia. It's $10 and dissolves better than the similar powder that SweetLeaf makes.
You can buy organic black beans at TJ's. Keep several cans at work.
Get a small olive oil, sea salt, and curry powder (but not sure they sell that there). Take a set to work.
Also at Trader Joe's:
WILD rice. Black Olives (keep at work in the fridge, rinse before eating)
Frozen ORGANIC peas, spinach, green beans - get some for work and a good colander to rinse.
They also have some organic frozen fruits. Raspberries are best. their organic blue berries are rather tough and woody.
Valrhona Noir Extra Amer 85% DARK chocolate. -
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I love black beans and maybe I could throw in some diced chicken, chopped onion, jalapeno and top off with avacodo and fat free plain yogurt (thats dairy though no?).
Does the 85% dark choc have much sugar in it. I think I need to get rid of as much sugar as possible. When I eat something that has sugar in it, I get an immediate head tingly reaction.
Thanks again!
-------------------- dx in Dec 2003 tested 2x positive for bart Lightly Chelating 3 weeks off abx and 1 week on:
10 day course a month: Plaq/Ceftin/Rifampin/Biaxin with Tindamax on last two days Posts: 187 | From PA | Registered: Apr 2008
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Keebler
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- I don't believe in smoothies as, for me, that's a million calories that never really last long.
However, you can put some frozen berries in with almond milk, or with Greek Yogurt.
I came back to finish about the 85% dark chocolate. It has about 5 g. sugar per serving HOWEVER, I had a knock at my door before I could add:
break into tiny pieces and mix with NUTS. One little bar will go very far this way and last for a couple weeks - or even months. Trader Joe's has the best prices on nuts. Get RAW nuts, though, not roasted as the oils are too old by the time you get them.
But, after re-reading your last post, you may be best to avoid that altogether. For most, this can help to transition off of it and it is best to avoid so it does not trigger cravings. For others, as a transition or emergency, so to speak. Cocoa can be obtained without sugar, too, with almond milk and stevia.
Trader Joe's has various frozen combos you can keep at work. I just never get to go into the store myself so just send others after the basics.
Why not ask one of the TJ staff people to walk with you through the store. They are all trained to know where the gluten-free, additive free things are and also their seasonings, etc. They are very friendly and knowledgeable. -
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The only thing HALF WAY OK is the coffee... and too much of that would not be OK.
Skip the Splenda and go for stevia...skip the dairy AND the soy.
Your diet will only encourage yeast and heart disease.
You've been given great info above!! I'm probably just being redundant here!!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Keebler
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- While I said I don't "do" smoothies, that's also partly due to the effort of cleaning a blender. For protein, check out their choices and keep one canister at work for emergencies.
Check out their HEMP protein powder but get it without the date sugar added as in the chocolate one. (Although for others, date sugar has a better glycemic index than even agave . . . but it's still sugar to candida).
HEMP will not taste luscious and smooth but it's excellent food. It is grainy, but excellent food for your brain.
See if they have ALMOND MILK. You should at least drop soy for a few weeks to see how you do without it. If they don't have almond milk, look for Blue Diamond almond milk at a health foods market. Always get the UNSWEETENED.
TJ's also has frozen chicken breasts, ready to just pop into soup or a pan after you've sauteed some onions. They are cage free but still confined to a barn so that part does not thrill me. But I just can't afford to eat only happy chicken.
Again, you might call ahead and go at a less busy time (as if they ever have that!) . . . and get a TJ staff person to shop along side of you.
I admire you for taking to heart all this. I can be a bit of a steam roller and sort of figured you'd tell me to just shove it. So, it's nice to see your commitment. It can be a shock and you may feel deprived but, please, just walk away from what you thought was food and a whole new, exciting, colorful and succulent world of intense and satisfying flavors will serve you well.
Cheers. -
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posted
How about non dairy creamers for coffee? Does Trader Joe's have those? I don't like black coffee....
The stuffed flounder was no good? Breaded crab filling the reason?
How about the plain ribs and sauer draut? I actually felt good after eating that and read that SK is a great food with natural probiotics. I wanted to add more of that to my diet.....
Yea unfortunately sugar is out for a while. I do love those sugar free tasty cake bars. I guess because they are processed and artifical stuff they are out too?
I will not be able to make changes over night and I'm going to have to figure out a core program and see how it goes.
-------------------- dx in Dec 2003 tested 2x positive for bart Lightly Chelating 3 weeks off abx and 1 week on:
10 day course a month: Plaq/Ceftin/Rifampin/Biaxin with Tindamax on last two days Posts: 187 | From PA | Registered: Apr 2008
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BoxerMom
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I want to add here that keeping inflammation down with diet is key to knowing when you are well and can stop antibiotics.
I've taken a few abx holidays during my treatment. During these periods, my herxing and inflammation come way down, and I feel pretty good. But if I cheat too much on my diet, I feel like I'm having the world's biggest herx. But I'm not, I'm just full of inflammation.
One time, I ate a burger and fries at a fair, and all the inflammation went straight to my brain. I could hardly stand up, and I'd felt fine all day prior to my lunch.
Diet is difficult, no doubt. But I have no idea how people judge which symptoms are infection flares, which symptoms are herxes, and which symptoms are food-related if they don't eat a whole-foods diet.
For me, I am very low carb, because I get extreme fatigue, brain fog, palpitations, dizziness and visual disturbances if my blood sugar fluctuates too much. Of course, they all sound like Lyme symptoms, but for me they are food symptoms!
I would have no idea how my treatment was progressing if I didn't follow a strict diet.
Keebler
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- Non dairy creamers are a heart attack waiting to happen. Almond milk can be wonderful instead.
NUTS and a tart apple are a good treat. All kinds of nuts. Keep in fridge and take out only what you'll use for the day or so until cooler weather comes around.
Check out what is IN stuffed flounder. MSG? If it's TJ's probably not, but read all the ingredients. Still, yes, the bread crumbs are gluten and off limits. Even a trace of gluten can trip up your brain and create inflammation in your brain and gut for up to six months. Really. PubMed verifies that.
Still . . . what are the flavors added to stuffed flounder? With rosemary, thyme and olive oil, you can make a delicious grilled fish topped with lemon juice. Fresh rosemary is better than dried. Trim the ends and keep in a little water in the fridge for a week or two.
Pick up some organic lemons and check out their frozen fish section.
You can have some lemonade or limeade with just water and stevia. Add in some of the zest from the skin. Ahhhh. and a dash of sea salt. -
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lymeinhell
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Keep a stash of raw almonds in your desk, and start hard boiling some eggs and bring them to work. When you get the cravings for junk, nibble on one of these - it might just shut your stomach up.
While you transition to your diet, you should really just go cold turkey for a little while. The first 10 days are brutal, but your stomach will get over it and learn to use proteins as your fuel.
No 'just one burger on a roll or a couple fries' - it will just lead to eating more carbs.
Good luck to you
-------------------- Julie _ _ ___ _ _ lymeinhell
Blessed are those who expect nothing, for they shall not be disappointed. Posts: 2258 | From a better place than I was 11 yrs ago | Registered: Sep 2003
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Ahh - so I'm continuing to learn. Almond Milk is better than soy. Will make that switch. I'm fine with anything kinda sorta milk like so it will be fine.
I'm getting a bit excited to see if these changes will help at all. I've been fighting this for around 6 years with basically only slight modifications to my pre-lyme diet.
I made a recipe in Dr. S book salmon cakes with whole wheat bread crumbs. What could I sub for the whole wheat crumbs? I used canned salmon too.
Thanks
-------------------- dx in Dec 2003 tested 2x positive for bart Lightly Chelating 3 weeks off abx and 1 week on:
10 day course a month: Plaq/Ceftin/Rifampin/Biaxin with Tindamax on last two days Posts: 187 | From PA | Registered: Apr 2008
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Keebler
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- TJ's has a nice gluten-free brown rice PENNE - for a pasta treat now and then, in moderation.
You could substitute oats for bread crumbs. Just pulse in your blender or spice grinder first.
And - for a holiday - Van's has some very good gluten free frozen waffles that are nice. Not all the Van's are gluten-free, though. Also fairly moderate on the glycemic index - but - then there's the matter of syrup. Pure maple syrup is best but still, that's a lot of sugar. You'd want to be sure to have good protein and plant food with the meal, too.
These are not toaster waffles, too thick, unless for a toaster oven. They need to cook for 20 minutes. Very good but I can't control myself and a box is gone in the blink of any eye. They are banned from my freezer except for holidays, with a sage chicken sausage on the side. -
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Keebler
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- I don't know if TJ's is carrying black rice yet but they often have good WILD rice. I order black rice from LotusFoods' site or the local organic foods market.
For your salmon cakes, grind up a little black rice powder (but it may make them purple, or add some cooked wild rice. That would be very good, indeed. ---------
- By Carina Storrs, Health.com August 26, 2010 from CNN's site.
(Health.com) -- According to ancient Chinese legend, black rice was so rare, tasty, and nutritious that only the emperors were allowed to eat it. . . .
. . . One spoonful of black-rice bran -- or 10 spoonfuls of cooked black rice -- contains the same amount of anthocyanin as a spoonful of fresh blueberries, according to a new study presented today at the American Chemical Society, in Boston.
"I think the black-rice bran has an advantage over blueberries, because blueberries still contain a high level of sugar," says the lead researcher, Zhimin Xu, Ph.D., an associate professor at Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, in Baton Rouge.
Black rice isn't currently grown on a commercial scale in the U.S., but Xu hopes that his research will spur farmers in the Southeast to start growing it.
The combination of antioxidants found in black rice packs a one-two punch that could make it a particularly good food for your health.
Some antioxidants in black (and brown) rice are fat-soluble, while anthocyanins are water-soluble and can therefore reach different areas of the body, says Joe Vinson, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry at the University of Scranton, in Pennsylvania.
. . . "You get this up-front nutty taste, and almost a hint of fruit or floral at the finish. It's very complex." . . .
. . . There are other ways of using the rice besides eating it straight. Levine makes homemade black-rice bran powder by putting the dried kernels in a coffee grinder. A dusting of the powder on fish or in pancakes adds a nice flavor boost, she says. . . .
. . . Even if black rice becomes a staple on your dinner table, you should still make room in your diet for fruits like blueberries, cranberries, and raisins, Moore says.
Blueberries and black rice "have different offerings," she points out. "With the blueberries, you get an additional amount of vitamin C." -
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-------------------- dx in Dec 2003 tested 2x positive for bart Lightly Chelating 3 weeks off abx and 1 week on:
10 day course a month: Plaq/Ceftin/Rifampin/Biaxin with Tindamax on last two days Posts: 187 | From PA | Registered: Apr 2008
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Keebler
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- I sure do. There are differences of opinion with that, though. Some say eat only proteins and watery vegetables and separate out the other carbs.
For me, for glucose stability, I include protein, fats and complex carbs with each meal. Other than nuts as a snack, I would not eat protein (as a meat) alone as the stomach and colon need more fiber than protein offers. Unless it's lentil soup or other legumes as your protein and they already have the complex carbs all right there.
If the carbs are complex enough and have enough protein content you may do okay without additional. For instance, Quinoa and black rice both contain a good amount of protein unto themselves. But it's always good to add veggies with every single meal.
A combination of foods ensure a better digestion and glucose stability rate so that you won't be dropped when a single food has run its course. -
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Keebler
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posted
- I just got a TJ's mailer today. Page 8: Chicken Tenders Curry - it's not on their website but the ingredients listed in the flyer are all wonderful. In the fresh meat case. ------------
3. A Note to Our Customers About Trader Joe's Seafood
4. Trader Joe's Products are Sourced from Non-GMO Ingredients
-------------------
And, even for guys, get a bunch of fresh flowers for just $4.00 - give one bunch to your Sweetie Pie and take another one to work to brighten your desk. Flowers are important. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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posted
You received great advice. I just wanted to encourage you with this diet. I started mine months ago and follow Dr Bs guidelines. Its very hard but so worth it! I was bedridden much of the time. I wasnt on abx and this diet was a desperate measure for me. It made an INCREDIBLE difference! I still have sx but nowhere close to what it had been. Good luck..it will get easier with time and as you learn what works for you and what doesnt
Posts: 624 | From Oklahoma | Registered: Jun 2010
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posted
Misfit (and others) - did you go cold turkey or did you ease into by cutting out 2-3 bad things right away and substitute with better things or did you leap right in. Wondering if you think going cold turkey will have some initial adverse effects. Thinking that it took me 46 years to get here that I can't rip it all down in a week.
Thanks and I was thinking that since this is such a frequently posted topic, would it make sense to carve out a "nutrition/diet" section on the main flash board menu? People could post recipes and discuss this topic in it's own category. Just a thought.
Chris
-------------------- dx in Dec 2003 tested 2x positive for bart Lightly Chelating 3 weeks off abx and 1 week on:
10 day course a month: Plaq/Ceftin/Rifampin/Biaxin with Tindamax on last two days Posts: 187 | From PA | Registered: Apr 2008
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posted
You've already gotten great advice about what to eat and not eat.
A few things I have learned from experience that might apply to you:
The low carb high protein diet that I started before I had Lyme, in order to lose weight and stabilize my blood sugar, did indeed reduce my inflammation to the point that my asthma hardly bothered me. Usually it affected me with severe bronchitis for 6 months every winter.
I also lost 35 pounds and have kept it off more than a year. I also had normal levels of blood sugar, triglycerides, etc., and was out of risk for diabetes after a week and a half on the diet. My doctor was impressed.
When I began dieting, I had first tried the conventional method for 3 months, and kept track of everything I ate, everything I burned, etc. I ate low fat, low calorie, and tried to avoid sugar and flour.
I struggled to lose a pound a week, if at all. I was starving the whole time. I had enormous carb cravings and started bingeing twice a week (which had not been a problem until I started the diet). And I was cranky all the time.
Then I read all about the low carb diet and the reasons it could be healthy as a permanent way of eating as well as useful for blood sugar control. I was desperate, so I decided to try it, but I was afraid my carb cravings would get MUCH worse.
I was completely wrong--the physical carb cravings were mostly gone after I had been on the diet for a few days. I still get the emotional urge to binge on carbs from stress, and perhaps nostalgia for my former favorite foods, but while I stick to the low carb diet, I do not get physical carb cravings.
I also found that if I cheated and ate some carbs of the forbidden variety, I would start to get the cravings again right away.
Changing to a low carb diet was a complete change for me--I think I lived mostly on carbs before. That is a difficult change for anybody to make, so you have to be committed to it. In fact, I was on a retreat, looking for motivation to commit to it when I got bit by a tick.
That was NOT what I meant, LOL. But I sure do have motivation now, to get well from Lyme, and even more motivation since I had an attack of candida last month. Now when I cheat on my diet, I not only get carb cravings but also thrush and maybe a bloated stomach. And if you're an athlete, you know about motivation.
Second you need knowledge of what food to eat and avoid. You can read the Atkins book or any other low carb diet book to learn that. I have found that the very simplest way to stick to it is: I can have all the meat, other protein, and vegetables I want. I can have a little of certain fruits at the end of a meal once a day (berries, melons, stone fruits and aples; no tropical). I eat 3 meals and 1-3 snacks, and I eat protein every time I eat. If I eat anything else, I count my grams of carbs (minus grams of fiber), and keep it under a certain amount per day (you have to experiment to find the best level for you; very low carb is about 20-50g; moderately low is 50-90; the upper end that can still claim "low carb" is about 90-120). The average American eats about 500g of carbs per day.
Third, you have to eat lots of fat. Coconut oil, avocados, nuts, real butter, olive oil, walnut oil, maybe fish, grass fed meat if possible--it's advisable to stick to "good fats," but you need more of them than we have been brainwashed to think. Fat is not the evil that it's portrayed everywhere. And if you eat it, you will be happy on the low carb diet.
To get over THAT mental hurdle, I read Gary Taubes' book Good Calories, Bad Calories, which is a book of scientific journalism that covers the history of research on nutrition. It shows how refined carbs, not fat, are responsible for huge increases in diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc. and how societies that were mostly healthy became extremely unhealthy after they got sugar and flour.
It covers the politics that led to mainstream medicine accepting a completely erroneous idea, unsupported by research, as gospel. (Does this sound familiar to anyone?)
Another tidbit I learned from experience: After a month on the diet, I started a little bit of weightlifting with small dumbbells, twice a week. I soon found myself getting lightheaded when I stood up and getting extreme fatigue that would last a day or two. This was before I had Lyme.
I figured out that I was running out of glucose (glycogen?) in my muscles, and then not replacing it after my workouts. As soon as I started eating a piece of fruit or a glass of chocolate milk immediately after my workouts, and maybe a couple of crackers right before, and drinking extra water to not get dehyrdrated, those problems went away.
That was all before I had Lyme.
So you may have to eat the kind of carbs that raise your blood sugar quickly in small amounts at certain times, if you have hypoglycemia or if you do a lot of exercise.
My last bit of experience is that I just this week discovered that we have a local chef who will make all your meals fresh and deliver them twice a week, and she has a low carb option. Her food is wonderful--she's a great cook, and I'm not really paying any more than I was already spending on long trips to health food stores for expensive ingredients, that half the time I threw away because I was too ill to keep up with cooking (I work full time).
I like this so well that I have decided to take a week's worth of this food with me on a road trip, because it's so difficult to find anything in stores and restaurants that is low carb, high protein and minus sugar, transfats and chemicals.
Best thing I ever did, and I wish I had known about it sooner. The lady is also very flexible and can provide you different amounts and sizes of meals depending on what you need.
For the past year or more, while I've had Lyme, I have fantasized about finding somebody to do this for me, but I didn't think it was possible or affordable, so I thought it would never happen. It's definitely worth looking for.
I live pretty far out of the city, so they don't deliver my food to my house, but they take it to a health store that is not far away. I frequently go there anyway to buy my supplements. An idea to suggest, if a delivery service doesn't reach your home.
Good luck!
-------------------- 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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I am sorry that almost your whole typical day's food has too many carbs. The stuffed flounder with crab meat is fine. The breaded tilapia has carbs in the breading. Your sauerkraut and ribs are good. BBQ sauce is okay if it doesn't have sugar or chemicals, but most do.
The reason you can't eat sugar free tastykakes (mmm, I have tried them--they taste great) is because they are made with flour. Flour is the same as sugar to your body, except the carbs in sugar are more concentrated so you get more in a smaller amount.
Cheesecake (minus crust) sweetened with stevia will work. You can make really good biscuits out of almond flour. I have also used almond flour and stevia to make really good little chocolate cakes--for a while I made a little one in the microwave ate those for breakfast with strawberries every day. My recipe is somewhere on Lymenet.
I also made a smoothie from whole milk, nut butter and strawberries that convinced me it was almost as good as a milkshake, except I felt good after I finished it.
Instead of looking for fake versions of your favorite foods that are bad for you but less bad than the originals, try to learn some new recipes for really appealing food made with mostly protein and fat and few carbs. You can find new craveable things.
I served my almond flour biscuits at Thanksgiving, and my parents wanted the recipe. They didn't know it was "diet food."
If you can eat some dairy, then use real cream in your coffee, real butter (not in your coffee, haha), a small amount of high quality cheese, kefir or yogurt with live probiotics (get plain and sweeten with stevia and your own fruit; sprinkle nuts or ground flax seeds on if you want), and use whole milk instead of skim if you have to use milk. Count the carbs in it and don't drink too much at once. If you like the almond or soy milk, then use that instead.
Personally I couldn't bear to give up BOTH refined carbs AND dairy products, so I've kept the dairy. I eat less than I used to and organic as much as possible.
-------------------- 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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Does anyone else find that there is a huge "Taste-Bud Transformation" challenge? For me, if I'm eating my "tired/lazy" diet of refined carbs (pasta/rice/toast/etc) then the thought of eating beans and/or a hard boiled egg is just unappealing.
But once I cut down on the refined carbs and processed food, then a hard boiled egg or bowl of beans seems fine.
Thanks everyone for your posts here. I would love to find some lymenet anti-inflammation/low-carb buddies :-)
Posts: 28 | From US | Registered: Nov 2008
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posted
I'm a carb-o-holic of long standing. I learned early in my life to bake and make fine pastries and spent years creating delicious confections for my family and myself. I also made homemade bread (the long way) and biscuits and dinner rolls, poppy seed braids, pasta, etc. The difference between my family and me was that they could eat a piece of cake or a cookie or a slice of warm bread and be satisfied. I always wanted more. I craved carbs, sweet and savory.
When I discovered the Atkins diet back in the 1980s, I tried it to lose weight. That was the first time in my life that I was freed of the powerful craving for carbs and it was liberating. I also quit feeling "wiped out" in the afternoons. And, of course, I lost weight.
Now, I do not crave sweets at all, and think a single strawberry or a few blueberries is a sweet and satisfying treat. I do not want sweet foods anymore. However, I do find that if I allow in many carbs from grains, the craving for savory carbs returns quickly.
Posts: 212 | From San Francisco Bay Area, California | Registered: Aug 2010
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
Gulp! Take a gander at a Twinkie's 37 or so ingredients
A dogged author and an `obsessive-compulsive' photographer have unearthed key findings on processed foods
Excerpt:
. . . To be sure, the Twinkie contains easily recognizable ingredients, such as flour, sugar, water, eggs, whey and salt. But Ettlinger dug and dug until he understood what the terms Polysorbate 60, Red 40, mono and diglycerides and calcium sulfate really meant.
(Spoiler alert: Calcium sulfate is a food-grade equivalent of plaster of Paris.) . . .
Blackberries Photos -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- It helps to know what goes into the supermarket products - and then to head to Farmers' Markets or the outer aisles in most grocery stores for real food. ---------------
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) says food dyes pose a number of risks to the American public and is calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban three of the most commonly used dyes: Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. A new CSPI report says those dyes contain known carcinogens and contaminants that unnecessarily increase the risks of cancer, hyperactivity in children and allergic reactions.
"These synthetic chemicals do absolutely nothing to improve the nutritional quality or safety of foods, but trigger behavior problems in children and, possibly, cancer in anybody," said CSPI executive director Michael Jacobson, co-author of the report. "The Food and Drug Administration should ban dyes, which would force industry to color foods with real food ingredients, not toxic petrochemicals." . . .
. . . According to the report, tests done on lab animals found contaminants that raised health concerns about several of the nine dyes currently approved for market. The approved dyes are Blue 1 & 2, Citrus Red 2, Green 3, Orange B, Red 3 & 40 and Yellow 5 & 6.
And every year, about 15 million pounds of these dyes wind up in our food, with alot of it ending up in things like candy, fruit drinks and cereals.
. . . Britain in 2008 . . . . For example, CSPI says McDonald's Strawberry Sundaes get their color from fresh strawberries. The group says in the United States the color comes from Red dye 40.
CSPI say in the UK, Fanta orange soda coloring comes from pumpkins and carrot extract. Here, it says the color comes from Red 40 and Yellow 6 dye. . . . -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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BoxerMom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 25251
posted
I second all these posts on the effects of the low carb diet: better energy, fewer cravings, stabilized weight, reduced inflammation, and (for me) improved sleep!
I was in complete adrenal exhaustion (bordering on Addison's disease) before my Lyme diagnosis. I had managed my cortisol levels with diet for years. When I followed the very low carb diet, I wouldn't get the early morning cortisol spikes that woke me at 4:00 a.m.!
This diet is a life-saver in many ways!
For reading, also consider anything written by Diana Schwarzbein, MD. She is an endocrinologist who burned out her own endocrine system with a lifetime of poor diet choices (sugar-holic).
The introduction in her first book, The Schwarzbein Principle, tells her story and the story of what she found when she began treating diabetics, namely, that the low fat, high carb diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association was making them worse. The intro alone is excellent and very inspirational.
BoxerMom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 25251
posted
Chris - Go cold turkey. There is no reason to "ease into" a new diet. It's not really a new diet if you're continuing old habits.
The changes are almost immediate. It's crazy. If you really follow the diet, you'll feel better in a few days. A week at most.
Going low carb (before my Lyme diagnosis) is what allowed me to live a pretty full life, despite my many symptoms. I would say the low carb diet controls about 80% of my symptoms.
posted
Chris...i just jumped in. Cold turkey. After the 1st few days the cravings all but stopped. Im a dyed in the wool carb addict. No longer. Admittedly my diet is more restrictive than some..but im convinced its singlehandedly the best thing ive done. I added a ton of supps as well. You CAN do this! Its a lifestyle change.
Posts: 624 | From Oklahoma | Registered: Jun 2010
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
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posted
- It may also help to toss the word "diet" out of your vocabulary. It's a life style. A food plan. A healthful way of life. It's about taking in good food. And that all sounds very positive and very good, indeed. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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sammy
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Member # 13952
posted
If you are working, away from home, need to eat something fast foody you can make better choices.
At Chipotle try all your favorite burrito fixings as a salad.
Chick-fil-A has a great chargrilled chicken salad. I love their waffle fries, get a small instead of large
Chinese restaurants are usually willing to make dishes for you with no sugar or corn starch. Add extra vegetables. Ask for brown rice instead of fried white rice. Their lunch prices are usually cheap too.
Panera Bread salads are great. Request dressing on the side, you don't need to use all of it. If you must have bread try the whole grain baguette.
Mexican restaurants, go for the fajitas but skip the flour tortillas. Eat a few corn chips if you want some salty carby crunch with your meal.
You get the idea, more whole grains and less floury carbs, grilled rather than battered and fried, less sugar, more veggies. Try to make your diet work with whats available.
If you have a Trader Joes nearby take advantage. They have lots of great stuff. You can find lots of healthy tasty options there.
Posts: 5237 | From here | Registered: Nov 2007
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sammy
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 13952
posted
For a quick breakfast or snack try whey protein powder. My ND recommended the Jay Robb brand. Tastes good mixed with milk or water! Mixes easily with a spoon (no chunks). It is convenient and helps support the liver. Order it online though, too expensive in the stores.
Posts: 5237 | From here | Registered: Nov 2007
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Lauralyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15021
posted
[QUOTE]Originally posted by BoxerMom: Diet is difficult, no doubt. But I have no idea how people judge which symptoms are infection flares, which symptoms are herxes, and which symptoms are food-related if they don't eat a whole-foods diet. I would have no idea how my treatment was progressing if I didn't follow a strict diet.
Exactly! Well said BoxerMOM. For those reasons alone is the reason I have adhered to the diet. I need to keep a common denominator so I know what is causing what. With all the unknowns.....food is an easy one to keep stable and consistent.
I'm used to the diet now ,a little resentful at first but I got over it.
-------------------- Fall down seven times, get up eight ~Japanese proverb Posts: 1146 | From west coast | Registered: Mar 2008
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Does anyone else have more difficulty falling asleep at night and staying asleep while avoiding carbs? (for example, no pasta/rice/etc. at dinner time, and then lying awake in bed and waking up in the middle of the night). thanks!
Posts: 28 | From US | Registered: Nov 2008
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I had trouble falling asleep before starting the diet...no difference for me personally there. Melatonin took care of that. If im in a lot of pain (ive fallen off the wagon the last few days and ive sure noticed the difference!!) then i wake frequently.
Posts: 624 | From Oklahoma | Registered: Jun 2010
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posted
I can't fall asleep if I'm hungry. If that happens, I will eat a snack before bed--a little kefir, or a piece of cheese, or a handful of nuts, whatever has protein and is fast and easy to eat quickly.
I get the 4am cortisol spikes, and I have been straying pretty far from low carb for the last several weeks. I didn't realize the change in diet had a major impact on that. Now that I am getting back on it since a few days ago, I am going to watch and see if that helps me sleep through the night again. I feel so much better symptom-wise if I sleep straight through.
-------------------- 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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So I've taken the plunge. I began to eat better last week but decided to turn it up a notch and try to follow Dr. S inflammation diet as closely as I could. Its day 3 and I'm not doing too bad but of course days 1 and 2 were while I wasn't at work. Phase 1 seems a bit over the top for me (remember just last week I was eating soft pretzels , McD 3rd pounders with bacon and cheese and buffalo wings with blue cheese.....) but I'm taking my best shot. I have to say I'm not a huge fan of the wild rice but maybe I can grow into it? The last couple meals I've had have been flounder and wild rice with a spinach and argula salad with some assorted veggies and salmon and wild rice with a bowl of butternut squash soup and asparagus. I included a phase two item this week (squash) but hoping that doesn't kill me! The salmon was great but the flounder was totally bland (I baked it in oil with a little bit of parsley and cilantro. I wondered what people's opinions were of olives. Maybe I missed it but they are not included in any of the phases. I would think they are a decent source of fat and they would make my salads a lot better to me since I love olives! Thanks for all the great advice in the other thread I started last week. I'd love to hear some ideas for some good Dr. S phase 1 and 2 meals. Thanks again, Chris
-------------------- dx in Dec 2003 tested 2x positive for bart Lightly Chelating 3 weeks off abx and 1 week on:
10 day course a month: Plaq/Ceftin/Rifampin/Biaxin with Tindamax on last two days Posts: 187 | From PA | Registered: Apr 2008
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