Foods We Can Eat

[Guest dionna]

i know that our diet can help or hinder our symptoms. i have been looking all over the internet today trying to find foods that i can eat. i keep on finding things not to eat but it would be so much easier to find things i can eat. you know like specifics so i can go shopping for them. if any of you have specific foods that you can eat and do you well, could you please let me know some of them? i'm sure it might help others on the forum as well. or if any one knows any web addresses that i can check out. thank you very much for any help.

dionna

[futurehope]

I eat the following on a routine day (though I'm not saying this is what you should eat):

The goal for me is not too much at one time, no milk, and relatively low carbs. I also need to ingest 1500mg of calcium and 3 fiber pills each day. I tend to stay away from fatty foods as this makes my GERD worse. (That's heartburn.) I eat at 6 9 noon 3 6 and 9.

Eggos waffles in blueberry or strawberry - no syrup.

leftovers of some sort or canned fish (tuna or salmon) with two slices of bread (without preservatives), a raw carrot.

plain yogurt with blueberries and a banana put in it

chicken and a starch (like brown rice) and a veggie (like spinach)

frozen ice pop that I have made out of organic fruit juice such as cranberry or grape

special-K or corn flakes with rice milk (I look for cereals with under 30mg of carbs/serving

It's taken me years to come to the above and I've finally found the above formula helps me maintain my weight. Over the years, I would be putting on weight or losing weight.

I think the key to maintaining weight for me is low on the sugar and fat. I also want to avoid big changes in blood sugar so I tend not to ingest simple carbs like sugar.

Now, I'm not a nutritionist. So I do not know if I'm getting everything I need. But, I do take a multivitamin with lunch and two caltrate pills with meals. That's part of my calcium intake.

[bttrflyamby1981]

Hi Dionna,

this site was from my dr, hope it helps. I'm glad you posted this cause I didn't realize I had this site.

http://home.att.net/~potsweb/POTS.html

Good luck

Amber

[Guest dionna]

i know to increase salt. no garlic, no nitrates- but what foods contain nitrates? no caffenine, not much sugar, or carbs. any other no's? are there any yeses?

[Guest dionna]

futurehope,

the tuna, do you eat it just straight out of can plain with the bread or do you mix it with something?

do you eat other fish other than tuna or salmon? i love seafood, such as shrimp, crab, lobster, and all sorts of fish. do you know if these are bad or good? i should keep a journal and i think i will but everyday is so different and i know all the elements around us affect how we are. even the barometric pressure messes with me. just wondering and thank you for posting your reply.

dionna

[futurehope]

Hi, Dionna,

I feel a bit awkward discussing how I eat because I know everybody is different and has different ideas and health needs, but..... you asked, so I'll tell.

Concerning tuna salad, or salmon salad:

Sometimes I use a bit of my yummy "health food" mayonnaise, Hain's safflower mayonnaise in the tuna. Sometimes my husband adds cut up celery to make his tuna salad. Sometimes I eat tuna or salmon with nothing but bites of bread. I use the fresh baked bread that my grocer makes each day (without the preservatives).

It's not an exaggeration to say it took me years to realize there is food out there that is all right. I'll describe "good foods" in a minute.

Concerning what are foods with nitrates?

First off, foods with additives and nitrates include hotdogs, bologna, salame, sausages, any prepared meat or prepared foods, frozen meals, etc.

So, to get back to what is good. If you can eat a food that is natural and more like it occurs in nature before man gets his hand on it, the better off you'll be. What does that include?

vegetables, chicken, porkchops, hamburger (from which you can make hamburgers, tacos), stews, (I'm trying to remember what we' ve eaten for dinner recently),we had this yummy baby-leaf spinach that came prepackaged for a salad and my husband steamed it (boy, was that ever tasty), corn on the cob, broccoli, potatoes, sweet potatoes, anything that is natural really. If you can do milk, there is skim milk or string cheese you can eat for a snack. There's yogurt. I also use this "health food butter" called "Earth Balance" or "Smart balance" or something like that.

Yes, I eat shellfish once in a while. My husband just made this yummy dish with muscles on top of spaghetti with this yummy sauce. Sorry, I don't know details.

Anyhow, if you look in the grocery store to see what foods are more natural, that's what I eat. I'm sure I left off many other foods.

And like I said before, I stick with dry cereals that have less than 35 mg of carbs/serving. In the winter, I might have oatmeal or rice cereal or whatever with fruit in it (like raisins).

I hope that helps. Like I said, if you eat milk products, you have more choices.

I'm telling you stuff that took me years to figure out. I was a real junk-food junkie and I was big on prepared foods, so I had the same reaction as you at first. I thought, "What do I eat?"

But, believe me, I'm eating. I'm maintaining my weight so I must be ingesting enough calories.

If you ever make a decision to change your diet, I have a suggestion. Don't do it all at once. That would be overwhelming. Pick one food you would like to discontinue, and start by avoiding that. Substitute a better food for it so you are getting the calories you need. Don't eliminate all at once. It's too difficult.

[ramakentesh]

the foods that set my POTS off are cereals and pizza - i have no idea why. I miss pizza but every time i eat it i get a four-day hangover

[ksibert676]

Peace out

[Lukkychrm42]

I'm vegan, and while I do like snack foods, most of my diet revolves around fresh, whole foods. I did find a book about eating for fibromyalgia and picked it up, as it seeks to limit fatigue and enhance our often-vulnerable immune systems. It recommends in general a vegetarian whole-foods diet, because of 1)difficulty of digesting meat in general, and 2)Likelihood of a healthy vegetarian diet including more fresh fruit and veg and whole grains (i.e. more vitamin-and-antioxidant-rich foods).

I definitely need my fix of protein-rich foods, and also feel worse after a sugar 'binge'.

So at lunch I might eat:

red beans and brown rice with peppers, onions, and mushrooms

and dinner:

grilled tempeh over steamed chard, broccoli, and carrots, with apple chutney; and fruit.

Just for example.

[MightyMouse]

From a POTS perspective, there is no research related to diet or eating habits directly. The only caveat being that many of us do better on a high salt diet; and that liccorice (the real black liccorice, not artificial stuff) is suggested. And, of course, staying hydrated is a standard recommendation of ANS specialists.

Nina

[ksibert676]

xxx

[MightyMouse]

Karen, I absolutely agree. Generally speaking, anyone, POTS or not, who eats a well rounded and fresh food filled diet has better overall health, lower risks for diseases like diabetes, heart disease, etc. Add moderate exercise and one improves the general health outlook even more.

Personally, I am supposed to be on a gluten free diet. I've been off of it for about 7 months, but just this week have decided that I'm going back on the gluten-free wagon. When I eat too much gluten, my guts are just very unhappy--and for some reason, my joints and muscles seem to hurt more too. The longer i stay on gluten, the more pronounced the symptoms get.

In an attempt lose weight, I went on a diet plan in January with all pre-prepared foods purchased from the diet company--while I did lose about 20 lbs, my body hurts and my guts are very unhappy at present. I have heart burn every night, which hasn't bother me in years--I'm on nexium 2x a day, and it used to be effective. Not anymore. I'm hoping going back to a g/f diet will fix that issue over the next few weeks.

Nina

[MotleyLori]

I am curious as to why "no garlic"? My aunt who most probably has a dysautonomia, she has "just passed out" her whole life, swears she is "deathy allergic to onions and garlic" in all forms. I can't tolerate them well, but can't say allergic. So just curious as to why that is to be avoided in POTS.

Thanks

Lori

[ksibert676]

xxx

[Guest dionna]

garlic: excerpt from http://home.att.net/~potsweb/POTS.html- directly by copy and paste

Patients with POTS and/or neurally mediated hypotension should avoid garlic and nitrates in food, which lower blood pressure.

so i hope that answers the garlic question.

dionna

[MightyMouse]

garlic has natural chemicals in it that seem to lower blood pressure. Nina

[Sophia3]

Giving up garlic has been one of those LITTLE BIG things that has super bummed me out...For years I was GARLIC ON EVERYTHING except chocolate and ice cream..but noticed that I was EXTRA cotton mouthed and extra fatigued after eating it...so I gave it up.

I still miss it but the times I cheat and use it, not worth it. Its like taking a big old water pill and feel like I donated a pint of bloo.

It affects me more than the occassional lunchmeat sandwich. I loved Italian but don't eat it as much and gave up my FAVE side dish, GARLIC BREAD.

Wow...years later, I still miss it.

There used to be a diet page at NDRF years ago...a doc gave tips what to eat...canned soup, lots of salty snacks...JUNK FOODS for most but worked for those of us with low blood volume and POTs...just have to try what works for YOU.

I tried a Chronic Fatigue diet in the early 90's that ALMOST DID ME IN...ALL Natural...low salt....That was before the ANS dx.

So like meds, what works for one, may not work for another....we are like snowflakes...everybody is different.

[MotleyLori]

Thanks. Maybe I should eat garlic as I am normally hypertensive.

Lori