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Healing Through Food


Kitsakatsa

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So, has anyone seen the Discovery Health Series "Crazy Sexy Cancer"? Well, the patient on there said that she really loves whole foods because she feels so much better than she did before she started paying attention to her diet. That looked intriguing because I wonder sometimes if my system could heal faster if the foods I eat would work with the system and not take away strength to digest them and do it so poorly with the gastorparesis etc. I don't think you have to be vegetarian or eat organic tofu dishes to do this. She did make a kale shake or whatever that looked like something no POTS patient could ever get to their lips- but I wonder if there is something about the mix of foods and vitamins that can speed healing.

Is there anyone who has tried this or currently eats this way. The downside would be the energy that it takes to shop and eat this way (no McD's) and the financial bit of course where anything healthy costs more. How far has anyone taken this?

Thanks,

Kits

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Kits,

I have seen that show. The diet looked disgusting!

I'm in favor of eating as healthily as possible, but to me, that seemed to be taking it a bit far. And I think it would take a lot of work to buy all the vegetables, turn all the vegetables into a shake, etc. But she seemed to think it made her feel better, so I don't know.

I prefer my veggies solid!

Amy

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Agreed. Yeah. Reminiscent of the Saturday Night Live Bass-o-matic! I wouldn't even want to clean out the blender after that- let alone drink it. I'd vote for throwing the blender away... or selling the house that contained the blender.

There are other things like Almond Butter and stuff that I've heard of that sound pretty good. I don't know. Maybe kind of the like the Mehmet Oz stuff....

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I don?t know how unique my approach is, but, I never (ever) eat fast food (eg McD). We belong to a local CSA and get local organic produce each week from local organic farms from April through November. These foods form the basis for most of our dinners throughout the week. We only eat fresh-milled whole grain bread (from the breadery, a co in Baltimore). We eat local cheese, milk, butter. We eat organic multi-grain cereals. Whole grain rice/wild rice. Whole grain pastas. I personally do not eat much refined sugar because it tends to make my symptoms worse?but I do cheat!

I am a vegetarian, but do eat fish. I eat more beans than tofu.

Because we don?t eat meat, nor processed foods in excess, we buy what we can in bulk, I think our food costs are comparable to the typical family. We do spend more time than average in our kitchen, I suspect, since we prepare much from scratch, and don?t eat out much (less than once a month). However, there is naturally occurring ?fast food? such as fruit! Also, some things are easy to make in large quantities and then eat over several days, such as hearty soups (which I do frequently in the winter).

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I never eat fast foods and only eat certain packaged foods. I eat bread, cookies, etc. but try to get the fresh baked ones as opposed to Chips Ahoy. I became even more conscious about my diet since getting POTS. I also try to buy organic, hormone free, etc. when available. I don't eat "health food" per se, but more whole foods like baked chicken or fish and steamed veggies. I'm not sure any of this helps my POTS. I just feel it's important to eat this way because I think the chemicals, additives contribute to (if not cause) obesity and health problems in general.

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Well, I would think that the benefits from eating greens, kale shakes (BTW it was probably *juiced* and is much tastier than it sounds), raw fruits and vegetables, and so forth far outweigh any 'benefits' of eating McDonalds...

I've finally started the raw food diet I mentioned before I came to the UK. A quick note about shopping: it's easier because you're almost exclusively in the produce aisle!

PLUS- you don't have to cook- you might chop some stuff for a salad with a food processor, or for a smoothie it's just 10 seconds in the blender..

My food today was SOOOo good- seriously:

iced coffee with sprouted soy mik and stevia (nope, not off the coffee!)

2 apples

fresh mango, banana, and OJ smoothie

carrot sticks and hummus (last bit of cooked left in the fridge)

lettuce wraps of mushroom, pine nuts, basil, garlic, salt (like mushroom pesto)

bruschetta (sprouted whole wheat bread, diced tomato, basil, salt and pepper, and dash of olive oil

black grapes

I'm so full!!

Anyway, all I'm saying is: Don't knock it until you try it!!!

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I don't have the best willpower to eat that way. I try, but when it comes to sweets, I fail, miserably.. :D I shop Whole Foods, Trader Joes and try to keep pastas at low glycemic, whole wheat, and limit breads. I feel bloated if I eat fast food, too much grease. ;)

I take a powder called nanogreens10. I get it through my D.O. It's 10 servings of fruit of veggies in one scoop. Tastes good in cold water or juice, whatever. Has no preservatives, no gmo,dairy,wheat,egg,animal byproducts, etc. 100% vegan ingredients.

It does give me some energy and I notice the difference when I don't take it regularly. Not cheap though. They do have a website and it lists the studies done on it too in case anyone is interested. www.nanogreens.com

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HI

I haven't posted in ages. My daughter, Rachel, saw the head of immunology/allergies this past summer. In addition to an known whey allergy, she was dx with wheat (not gluten), soy, lugume, peanut, egg and a lesser corn allergy. Wow, did that floor us. She has been do great with the diet though. It is restrictive esp in terms of eating out. She is at college and has put together her own version of a heavily raw diet. Her diet was heavily wheat/soy because of the dairy allergy.

She feels much better. I was surprised by the stuff I learned about food allergies: immediate vs delayed. I suspect that people who feel better on a raw diet are avoiding alot of common allergies and that contributes to how good they feel.

She still needs all her meds but she is functioning the best she has since middle school. I do think food allergies are worth investigating. I was very skeptical about Rachel seeing a new Dr - so many times it is a disaster. He was very empathetic and understood we weren't trying to cure her POTS but find any contributing factors and control them. Rachel notice how meals could have a negative impact.

Louise

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Guest tearose

I haven't seen that series but instinctively feel eating well in essential to good well being and health.

That being said, when I was suffering with gastroparesis and gut issues, the last thing I could eat would be a raw vegetable!!! ;)

I was only able to manage cooked vegetables, and I couldn't manage much meat either.

I recall having to eat vegetables separate from meat.

Once again I can eat raw fruit and vegetables however, I do so in moderation.

Not to be disrespectful of anyone who professes a "pure" diet...whatever that is...I personally think the value and benefit of cookies, chocolate and cake with buttercream frosting ...in moderation, has helped me! :D

now I am hungry,

tearose

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Tearose

Your post cracked me up.

Way back in the early 80s, I had low energy and worked a bit in a healthfood store. Was taught all about the raw foods diet and ate that way for 75% of my meals. back then, Gut and digestion issues were not a problem. I LOVED that way of eating and initially, it helped!

Also i was overweight at the time and it easily helped me LOSE weight as it was not dense calorie. Then I tried more cooked foods but vegetarian, then vegan, back to meats and such, then vegetarian again many years later. More recent years, GLUTEN FREE (NO easy feat if you do it WITHOUT CHEATING, folks!! did not help)

I FELT so much WORSE on vegetarian and now know I NEED, NEED red meat like steak due to lcarnitine and I s'pose other things. And protein in it's purest forms as I do not translate amino acids well by food combining AND have lost my ability to ever tolerate or eat, soy based or legumes. yikes.

I no longer 'eat healthy' but all things in moderation. Am not the least bit overweight. When I first saw the ANS diet (YEARS ago on NDRF when they still had fun information posted by the ANS docs) they had listed things like canned soups, hot dogs (Say WHAT?) Gatorade (which I loathed and despised at the time) and salty snacks.

Well, I started eating that way and it helped immensely but was no cure.

Now my ans has progressed that nothing helps the energy. PERIOD. the healthier I eat, the worse my guts are (raw veggies are out as are many raw fruits!!!)

I listen to my body and act accordingly. Sometimes I crave chocolate or even a piece of chocolate cake (made from scratch, not a mix) or even a store bought Hostess Ding Dong before working out or running errands.

Welp, guess what, the 'small portion' of these foods can AID in getting thru a task from running errands, or exercise, or vacuuming.

What does this mean? We are all different!!!!!

Try it (any diet) and you may like it. Or you may feel worse.

Remember, we all have different unknown causes and patterns to our symptoms.

Good luck and changing food plans never hurts. Mainly for me, SMALL portions are a must

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Tearose, I agree- while I agree and disagree with many aspects of diet, I become automatically skeptical when someone talks about their diet being "pure" or "perfect."

I have learned a lot about nutrition over the years, since my parents forced me to know how to get proper nutrients, and so I could defend my choices to those who got defensive about their own (and therefore aggressive). Even have learned a lot about protein that might surprise you.

There are plenty of "gurus" out there who claim they have not been sick, had a zit, lost a hair or whatever since adding/cutting out X. While I believe that most western diets are low in nutrients and high in manufactured chemicals, I acknowledge (obviously- I'm here, aren't I?!) that illness exists in the world and is not only, UNIVERSALLY down to what a person eats. Look around you: how many people do you know who eat only junk food and look great (at least for now)? And how many who work out all the time and eat quite healthy diets get a terminal disease?

I don't expect any diet to cure me. I do believe, however, that it can help improve some of my symptoms/issues such as: brain fog, fatigue, irritability, depression, acne, and insomnia...WHEN approached as a holistic lifestyle. I plan to get back into yoga (have started), and I'm determined to be more cheerful (on the inside), less listless, and so on. (My relationship broke up recently and now we've started anew, too, and that's great!)

I guess that while vegetarian/vegan I ate healthy meals but snacked on heavy foods too often. So now I'm feeling like I want to really make a difference to see just how high I can get, know what I mean?

I'm interested in the gut issues, too- instead of gastroparesis, I had chronic diarrhea. Since Christmas that's been much better, though I still get it more often than I should, as well as gas, bloating, and so on. From what I'm learning, the enzymes in raw foods (fruits, vegetables, sprouted grains/nuts) are what help us to break them down for assimilation. So logically, eating them ought to improve digestion, right? BUT if your gut isn't working properly, then food is staying in your stomach and may start to ferment- so that could be what makes it worse. I'd be interested to talk to any raw fooders with gastroparesis- I'll let you know if I hear anything.

I didn't mean to sound preachy- I really don't usually when talking about things like that, am usually more interested in the discussion. I guess to be honest, I was a bit put off by the comments on the kale shake! So, sorry about that. I just don't appreciate when people dismiss things they have never tried. And besides, I know that eating a super-healthy diet (of whatever sort) that is (or seems from the outside) restrictive in some way is not easy, but it also doesn't have to be as hard as some people make it out to be, and it's hard to feel very empathetic for someone who complains about life without ever trying to improve it. (SO NOT aimed at anyone here- also thinking of my sister! lol.)

(For the record, it was a long day today, but it was pretty good by my standards.)

;) Take care!!!

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Might I add HCL digestive enzymes can help with digestion immensely.

http://www.living-foods.com/festival/speak...kulvinskas.html

Also used to read some of this guys works but we are going back to 1980 so I do not remember much. But he is kinda scarey looking in this picture and just TOO FANATICAL for me.

I have SO BEEN THERE and done that with nutrition since 1980. Remember the book LIFE EXTENSION?? Read every word in that bloated book!!

To each his own. I find it interesting how things I tried so long ago are seen as new or trendy today. Just the circle of things.

The best thing about diets is that is it SO MUCH EASIER (though expensive) to eat GLUTEN FREE! 20 or so years ago, it was TERRIBLE converting recipes to GF recipes with much being tossed out in the garbage.

:rolleyes:

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Whoa he does look scary! If I had kids, I wouldn't want them going too near... :rolleyes:

I am appreciating the gals like shazzie, karen knowles, alissa cohen, and such, though. :angry:

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I just like to make fun of the shake, because that is the reason why the old me would never ever even consider a change in the food I eat. Any vegetable in a liquid form scared me to pieces (besides V8, but that is not pretending to be a shake (which is an ice cream mound-period and not slim fast)). And, I would use that a reason to not try and eat healthier.

So, I put that aside in the beginning and I would really like some honest answers on if whole foods have helped people. I'm really worried about how much it would cost. I guess if you eat less it costs less- right? I want to find a way to do it so that it makes an impact (not just a whole food here and there), but I don't want to create a financial or energy meltdown. How do you guys balance this? Nausea is a factor too-since all I feel like eating are white starches. Has anyone found a substitute for saltines? :rolleyes:

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This is not the article I was looking for but mention the woman, last name Weed and some benefits of herbs, BUILDING FLEXIBLE bones, and that RAW FOODS are NOT absorbed for certain nutrients like calcium. So I am posting this link though though about making it a new thread.

Sorry if this is a hijack but I think it ties in.

http://www.glenbrookfarm.com/herbs/healthybones.html

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Actually the only plant-based food that inhibits mineral absorption is whole grains, due to the fiber and the difficulty of breaking down the complex carbohydrates. The foods that cause mineral absorption problems are: high-protein or high-fat meats and soy (more the unfortified soy), dairy, caffeine, NSAIDs, and alcohol.

Tons of fruits and veggies are excellent mineral sources! Plants get their minerals from the soil, after all! Elephants don't cook their leaves. Most information says that heat denatures food, turning it from organic to inorganic, and thus makes it unavailable for absorption. (Well, all the sources I found were from people with degrees, and they weren't from the raw food boards! LOL (And juicing fruits and veg removes much of the fiber so it's more easy to digest anyway).

Re: $$ and a healthy diet:

Try to check out a nearby health food store. Some large grocery stores have bulk bins, and many HFSs do, too- where you scoop out what you want, and usually at a good price! (The rice, beans, flours, sugars, nuts, and so forth.) It's not so much that healthy food is expensive as it's not massively subsidized by the government unlike corn, wheat, and soy, which becomes high-fructose corn syrup, all sorts of sweeteners and other unnecessary, unnatural compounds. If you buy veg and fruit that are in season, it's generally cheaper. FX right now, you can get lots of potatoes, onions, cabbage, broccoli, mushrooms, brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips, pumpkin, butternut squash- PLUS- it's APPLE SEASON!!!! Yummmm!

Staples that are usually really cheap: carrots, cabbage, potatoes, onions, romaine lettuce, bananas, raisins, frozen spinach (often)

Many stores have reduced bins or spots where there's veg and fruit past its prime but still edible. If not, you can always ask (bruised bananas and such).

Generally speaking, whole grains will be cheapest/ the best buy in a large quantity, if you can't get it in bulk. Dried beans are a lot cheaper than cans, and aren't so hard to prepare (and lentils cook in 40 minutes without soaking). 2 14 oz cans of tomatoes are often cheaper than one 28 oz can (don't ask me why!).

Store-brand cereals like cheerios and bran flakes are often just as good, and way cheaper.

Farmers markets- great resources!!!

Umm that's about all that's in the brain at this moment- nearly midnight- but if you've got questions, please ask! :rolleyes:

All the best,

a poor graduate student :angry:

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Eating healthy is not all that expensive. If you're eating fast food you can probably eat health at home for the same cost (or even less). The only thing is that veggies don't last too long, so I tend to have to throw things out a lot if I don't eat them quickly enough. You might find it easier to ease into things than to go haywire on the health train.

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eating 100% GLUTEN FREE and 100% ORGANIC is expensive if on a tiny alloted budget.

That was my point. Not healthy eating in general.

Organic milk and stuff is twice the price and veggies and such. Gluten free, try making brownies or a pizza crust. YIKES! Least they are VERY expensive at the stores near me and one is a huge store with 'decent prices' for gluten free foods. I feel sorry for families that eat that way. My sister ate that way for awhile and even made her own bread but even still the ingredients needed to make good bread with good body AND TASTE! was pricey. In the long run it was like still $6.00 a loaf Her bread was so good she made it for others for awhile for a small markup but it got to be too much work.

Also Gluten free products go stale quickly and even the Amy's cookies which are PRICEY but fun so you don't feel like you are missing out sometimes, seem stale the day after you open them. I know others discussed this at a GF board some years back. The ones with kids that tried to make the whole family eat GF saw their food budget more than double.

You can not even by many condiments or side dishes if you read the labels carefully.

You can eat rice to your brains run out instead of other gluten free options but that got old quick. :angry::rolleyes:

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I eat whatever I am going to be able to get down. If I had the energy to do all the work required for making everything myself, I'd be looking for a job.

We do eat fast foods and stuff, because I generally just feel too terrible to stand in the kitchen and prepare food like some of you. But I don't have small children anymore and I'm 52. I wasn't raised on organics and all that espensive jazz that's out there now, so figure the damage is done.

I also wonder about all the ecoli they are finding in raw fruits and veggies now...yikes. But I am lazy and so is my gut, so as I said, whatever i can get down that day is okay by me. I do stay away from things that really trigger problems, and I'm not overweight, so it's just the way it is......morgan

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I didn't know we were lazy :) but I know many of us are fatigued as all get out. If I can cook 1-2 meals a week that is GOOD. And usually one is crockpot or with help of room mate.

I also do the DOLLAR meals at drive thru but I only eat dollars worth at a time. I am no longer fat either (used to be !!!)

I also agree that ANYBODy that can make three huge meals from scratch all day, is probably working.

Working for some of us is getting teeth brushed and flossed, hair cleaned and dressed. Makeup is a bonus and then...I need a lady in waiting or an "ALICE" from the Brady Bunch to do all my cooking and cleaning. I have to plan ahead to think of meals but try to keep it SIMPLE.

I have learned tips from others on making stuff ahead on good days. But goodness, buying foods inbulk for one person, and dividing it just ain't going to work. I have to ask my room mate to divide up chicken when it's on sale to put it in the freezer. To divide it and wrap it and keep washing your hands...that's a lot of ORTHOSTATIC TIME in the kitchen. I use a bar stool in the kitchen but it does not get blood to my brain.

And for the record, eating "healthy" has done zip, zero, zilch, NADA for HOW I FEEL 24/7.

Of course I need to watch the CARBS and eat small meals. But healthy does NOT IMPROVE ANS issues and can aggravate gut issues BIG TIME. . I could never in a hunnard years go back to the 'raw foods' diet at this point in my life.

Good luck to those who can. But if 'diet' was a powerful aid in this, ANS docs would be yapping it up.

:P

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I am so thankful for the responses posted on this topic! The last topic made me laugh because I tried to do a Rachel Ray meal, and keep up with her and nearly had to lay on the kitchen floor! We need "3 Minute Meals"! Well, I think I'm going to see where I can make some changes, but it sounds like I shouldn't get too wrapped up in an idea that I can "cure myself by Monday!" I could use the weight loss though. I don't think I need to explain to many how the nausea diets (white carbs) mixed with the nausea exercise plan (zero) works!

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I had a radio buddy and I KEEP forgetting to ask him, about a cookbook...I think it's 5 ingredients in 15 minute meals or something like that. He was talking about learning to cook simply things (he is in his 60's) But is the food any good?

Re: Rachel Ray, note she works at a fast pace!! my 30 minute meals would take a lot longer!! :P

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I agree that no one is saying that to eat healthy you have to eat gourmet 3 course meals.

For me the key has always been to make huge portions which will feed me all week! And it usually involves very little prep or cooking time.

Just so we don't confuse healthy with difficult!

I've only been cooking since I became vegan, so I learned pretty quickly that fast food just wasn't an option, so I found the shortcuts that I needed to avoid collapsing on the kitchen floor.

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