??? For resident expert Kite7

[steph37822]

oops

[DSM3KIDZ]

I love fresh veges to and since I have slow gastic emptying (gastroparesis) I haven't been able to digest them and I get BAD nausea from it just sittting in my stomach. One reason I love fresh veges because I know they are the BEST thing nutritionally for you. Anyways to get to my point, I juice my veges and most fruits so I can still get the vitamins. Occassionally I'll think maybe I'm cured than try a few fresh but that occassionally.

I made

carrot/spinach

carrot/celery

carrot/apple

plain carrot

cranberry /apple

orange/pineapple

I can't tolerate any with tomatoes but sometimes I add broccolli. It's a mess to clean up but worth it. You can make 1 qt. for the whole day but you should drink it the same day. The sooner the better for nutrients.

I use aciphex. I don't have acid reflex it just helps alittle with the nausea.

Dayna

[Gena]

I'm sure Kite will offer you some good answers, but in the mean time, I'll put in my 2 cents! I know it can be so frustrating trying to put on weight. I have been very thin before and still would like to gain about 5 pounds.

I agree with Dayna about the juicing. It's easier on the stomach to digest the cellulose/fiber and carbs in the veggies by juicing them first, since the mixer breaks down the food for you.

My first question for you is have you tried digestive enzymes? (I would recommend getting them at a local health store). They make some with HCL (hydrochloric acid) and some without HCL. The enzymes will help your stomach break down the food and allow your intestine to absorb nutrients from the food better. Many people with GERD or acid problems actually have insufficient acid for digesting foods. So you can try a digestive enzyme with HCL and if it causes you problems, try one without the HCL. (I like Acid Ease enzymes (without HCL) and I also use Nature's Sunshine Food Enzymes with HCL.)

I know you're trying to gain weight and processed, fast food is certainly an easy way to do this, but may be contributing to your GERD, especially if you're eating anything greasy or fried.

To gain weight, I make a calorie and nutrition packed smoothie in the mornings using berries, bananas, rice or almond milk, rice protein powder, and coconunt or olive oil. It comes out to somewhere around 600+ calories and is high in good fats. It's much more than I could obtain by eating in a bowl of cereal for breakfast. By doing this everyday, I managed to put on about 4 pounds in a couple of weeks. I know that's not much, but I was thrilled, because it's so very hard for me to gain weight no matter what I eat.

Hope you find a solution to your tummy troubles soon. I think if you try juicing first and then slowly work your way up to cooked veggies and then finally raw it should help. Your stomach needs a chance to heal and to reduce the inflammation and stress/workload on it. Usually digestive enzymes seem to help a lot.

[DancingLight]

gena, those are good suggestions...post-surgery my doctor was concerned that i was 'mal-nourished' and had me drink high-calorie juice boxes that, even if i could not eat anything solid, but get get them down, would provide complete nutrition. they use them in patients with severe GI problems.

also, thanks for the juicing tips...i LOVE carrot juice! i never thought i would like it, but i do. but, we don't have a juicer...i'm not up for that work yet. but, sometimes our cleaning person brings me some for a treat! michelle akers, the famous soccer/cfs person, swears by juicing!

emily

[Kite#7]

Hi Steph

I hope all is well with your convalesing and your surgery has gone well. I agree with Gena 's post really she has it bang on really. I too have experienced the wonders of vomiting ad naseum ( pun intended), but , persited with my dieterty plan. At one point I was down to 142 lbs and no amount of training , eating , drinking or meds would stop the slid. Like you , I was at wits end , because I enjoyed eating . Knew that I needed too - despartely now. So I made some ajustments inorder to better facilatate digestion. I got off the reflux Med. I can't recall off hand which but will get back to you. I took fibre supplement in the morning first thing - a well balanced one with both soluble/ unsoluble fibres - Either in my smoothie or separate depending on the flavour O' the day. I would begin the day with a Smoothie - Yogurt - probiotic - very important -

Flax OIL / Prim Rose Oil ( any omega essential fat)

FRESH fruits choice

Protien Whey Powder

Protein Soy Powder

Honey/Creatine

I believe , Steph , that essential fats like PRIM ROSE oR Flax are extraordinarily important. Supplementing with these will aid in a variety of ways , not the least of which is at a cellular level during recovery from exercise to benefit the supplementation of Creatine as it reacts with ATP to produce Glycogen , our Body's fuel. Also , essential fats help with the transit of vitamins & minerals in the body - so very basically will help to balance our systems.

I was able then to eat fresh VEG , one my favs too. My WIFE and I would eat Cauliflower , Broccolli , Peppers ,Cukes & other seasonal veg with a variety of soft Cheeses ( Havarti & irish imports - yea Ireland is reknown for Cheese ) , with high fibre salted Flat breads , DIPs. These would be our nightly meals for months. I choose these Veg due to the nutrient value and the fibruous nature. Both cali and broccli have lots of Calcium & magnesium - both are very good for these symptoms as, well they are complex carbs & do not raise blood sugar levevls. She would drink wine though - I would just Whine that I couldn't drink. With this regimin I was able to put some weight back on ( 163 BF 7% ) and best of all no more vomiting !!! YES iI still have GI STUFF ,but I don't think that that going to go any time soon. I thin k that Gena's post is very insightful , and Steph you are on the right track with all that you plan to do with regard to your exercise regimen. I would say , though , stay away from the fast food as a fix as it can cause greater imbalance to the system than you might imagine. Its like putting Disiel fuel in an F1 car - it'll run but...

good Luck Steph Kite 7 hope your feelin' well

Ps carrots are chock fullof sugar so if you are eating them have a source of protien as well so that you don't spike blood sugar levels - carrots are candy

[DancingLight]

gena,

i meant to say...the smoothies are a great way to get a lot of calories easily esp. when you feel too tired or miserable to eat. they go down so easily! i pretty much lived on rice shakes like you describe after surgery. you can also use the rice dream frozen stuff to create a more 'milkshake' consistency and also pack in more calories! now, of course, it would be better with real ice cream, but not for our tummies! next time i drink one of my rice shakes i will think of you!

i think i need to actually SLOW down on the eating these days...as i have put back on all of the weight i lost and am now maybe bulking up a bit too much! oops!

later alligators!

em

[steph37822]

oops

[DancingLight]

steph! that's a lot of calories! i can imagine that it takes all your energy to eat during the day! i feel that way sometimes...eat, pee, poop, sleep...really exciting. or, try to sleep that is!

hey, before i forget...i've got the no. 1 ladie's detective agency on tape, up next...will start it tomorrow it think. and, i put a marian keyes on hold at the 'braire..they had one of hers on tape! THANK YOU!

i am so confused...questions right back at ya! dueling posts, here we go!

what sort of supplements has dr. grubb told you to avoid?

the only 'supplements' that my dr. has given me the 'go ahead' on is: probiotics, freeda vitamins (just a multi-vitamin b/c of my restricted diet--no wheat, gluten, dairy, etc. etc.), calcium (b/c no dairy).

recently he has added vitamin E...which i haven't started yet. this is sort of an experiment b/c of muscle irritability. we will see. i just got it in the mail yesterday. i kmow vit. E is so controversial, but i am trusting that this is worth a try over an anti-convulsant med, which woudl be the next choice i think.

the 'supplement' shakes were in desperation...the option was the hospital and a nose drip (EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEkkkkkkkk) or the shakes b/c i could not keep food down or in me and like you i was so nauseas, throwing up, etc. and i also was so weak after surgery. since i have so many food intolerances and possibly dairy allergy...i can't do the carnation shakes or things like that that you do. the 'juice boxes' are 'complete nutrition' in a box...you can check them out at www.shs.com...the EO28 for kids. yup, this is what happens when your POTS doc is a pediatrician.

i wish it was as simple as cutting our fruit and veggies into stars and hearts! you crack me up!!!

i know people always want to be 'skinny' and think, oh i wish i was skinny...but i am really sorry you are on the end of things where you have to struggle so much to keep weight on or put it on. i know how hard you work to do this...and it sure isn't any easier than trying to lose weight! (okay, this isn't coming out right, but you know what i am trying to say...b/c you think like i do!)

i hope you find some solutions soon. i cannot eat so many foods that i love. tonight my mom was eating frozen yogurt and i was practically salivating over it!

goodnight!

emily

[DancingLight]

gena,

how do much olive oil do you put in your shake?

and what brand of rice protein do you use? since i know you will have a gluten-free variety!

can you taste the olive oil? i bet that is a good idea to balance out all of the sugar?

emily

[steph37822]

oops

[Kite#7]

Hi Steph,

I agree that over indulging on supplements can be a problem for every one ; 'fraid to say its that kind of world - if 1 is good more is better. However , I still think you are basically on the right track. A good Creatine will have many of the essential vitamins and minerals in a reasonable % of RDA anyway so your absorption should be relative to the ingetion and recovey/ use of the Creatine re: the design. By this I mean the uptake is usually based on a formula uniform to the best ability of the Creatine absorption rather than it being digested and wasted to creatinine , Hence the addition of Calcium and Magnesium. I also firmly believe that Honey is a WONDER food. Yes its a sugar , but in a pure form it is also a whole food with amazing healing qualities from a musclar point of view. In fact the Body builders of Old pre Arnold - Like Steve Reeves ( original Hercules from the 50's ) used it in lieu of CREATINE - that is to say it was their creatine. I would suggest , Steph , that you add it to as much stuff as possibble ie TEA , Salad Dressings , Smothies , Ice Cream etc. The other thing I can't stress enough is to make sure you are getting enough ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS - Flax , Prim Rose , Borage Oil Safflower Oil etc. the othr thing to think of is to watch your Calcium intake. As you have had these Surgeries you may be lower than usual on Iron - calcium will help with Iron absorpstion. One pleasnt way to increase iron absorption is GREEN TEA / ROOIBOOS TEAS( MY Personal favouraites - try white the tea of Kings very expensive but MAJOR anti-oxidants) and you can add HONEY. One thing to consider in lieu of COQ10 is N -Acectyl Cysteine , this is an ANTI -OXIDANT that basically will help prevent the breakdown of protein in the muscle by supporting glutithione in lean muscle mass. There are other Amino acids like ALA , CLA , Glutimane , leucine LIst goes on. I would stick to the Creatine as it prodably has some essential amminos in it. So anyway , just a couple more thoughts , Hope all is well in Ohio. I Have A personal fondness for Ohio as I attend the Cleveland GP every year and bought my 427 side OILER ENGINE for AC Cobra from Columbus. The Chop House Ice bar is one of the neatest things I have seen. Oh ther is another thought and serious too A Giunness a Day - lots of Iron - used to be perscribed to expectent mothers in Ireland .

Slainte` Kite 7

[Gena]

Steph- if you have possible absorption problems, have you tried any liquid or sublingual vitamins?

Kite you are a veritable fountain of great info, thanks for sharing your knowledge. (Just a note - Some of us cannot tolerate any sugary substances, whether it's honey, molasses, fruit juice, etc.) But I agree about the wonderful nutritional properties of honey. I buy only the raw, unprocessed honey, as this retains all the natural healthy benefits (I use it in my tea or in dessert recipes). I have gotten used to not adding any sweetener substances to my smoothies. Although ocassionally I will use some agave nectar, which has less of an effect on blood sugar.

Emily - I use anywhere from 2 tsps to 1 tblspn in my smoothies. I alternate between olive oil and coconut oil. Sometimes I even use grapeseed oil. The coconut is great, as it adds a nice little coconut flavor to the smoothie (it's especially good with strawberry/banana, pineapple or raspberry smoothies).

The olive and grapesee oils add no detectable taste at all.

And yes, you're right, by adding fat and protein, you can slow down the rate of absorption of the sugars from the fruits so that you don't get that blood sugar spike.

I use Nutribiotic Rice Protein, vanilla flavor and it's very good. However, they use enzymes to break down the protein in the rice and there's a very slight possibility that a trace of gluten could come from the enzymatic process. But I've never experienced any problems from it and I'm very sensitive. I am experimenting with other rice protein brands right now, just to see if I like anything else. So far, I like Nutribiotic the best. I tried Jarrow brand and it was yucky!

Take care all,

Gena

[janineerrn]

Hi,

Lots of good advice. I would like to tell you that I take vitamins and minerals in liquid form. Made from all natural food sources. I couldnt tolorate regular drug store vits and mins. The liquid forms absorb very easily, are very concentrated so you dont need to take much. They ahve helped me a lot. Esp. the minerals.

I also keep plenty of organic juices in my frige. Green Godess, protien and carrot. They can be found in the grocery store. I dont have the energy to juice. Even though the fresh stuff is better, I find the bottles stuff from the grocery refrigerated/produce/section to be the next best thing.

Peace

Janine

[Kite#7]

Hello All,

as we have proceeded further into this discussion it occured to me to include one of my favourite foods Peanut Butter ; But not just any old Skippy type. No its called Power Butter and contains 32 g protein 9.5 g essential fats ( omega 3 / 6 ) , 6 g Fibre , 0 cholesterol , 14 g TOTAL carb. The ingredients are as follows

Roasted Peanuts , Egg Whites , Wheat Germ ,Flax Seed , Flax Oil , Honey , Salt .

and it tastes absolutely wonderful. I eat the stuff on rice crackers , triscuits Spoons , FINGERS , Oh everything its great with Nutella too. But , anyway as far asnutritional value it is solid. For weight gain I would Highly recommend it as it is About 180 calories / tablespoon. It is very good in Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothies. I would not cook with it as you will break down the Flax oil and essentil fats. Its too good on its own anyway. I am not sure if ti is available at GNC or not But IT IS a USA product www.powerbutter.com so I'm sure they have links to dealers. Just another thought.

Kite 7

[steph37822]

oops