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Healing Through Food


Kitsakatsa

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And by the way, there are reputable doctors who HAVE recommended dietary changes.

Umm- let's see... how about salt?????

My excellent cardiologist has had POTS patients who have responded well to gluten-free diets. He's also had some who haven't.

Some sources list dairy as a food to avoid for dysaut. patients.

Clearly we are all different. No, there is not a one-size-fits-all plan out there that will cure people!!!! Dysautonomia is real- obviously!!!

But would you honestly say to someone- no, don't eat that apple. it's not worth it. My doctor orders me to eat oranges and bananas every day to make sure my potassium level stays up. I think it's unfair to make a blanket statement that food has no effect on people. It's discouraging and unnecessary.

This is a journey, after all- we're not static beings stuck in a closed system.

Oh I can be cynical about a lot of things. But if a friend here asks if trying something new is worth a shot, we usually tend to say either, I don't know but I want to hear how it goes! or it didn't work for me, but let me know how you do with it. Am I wrong here? I guess I choose to be positive when it comes down to it.

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I don't think anyone is saying not to do something simply because it didn't help them Megan, but I may be wrong. I was just saying that I don't have the stamina to cook from scratch most of the time. I used to cook all the time, just can't now. Not lazy, just feel lazy, poorly chosen wording, sorry.

I think we all have to do what works for us. There are so many things that I just can't eat any more. I would give anything to be Oprah and have my very own chef, but am not sure even that would help me. There's no doubt that eating a healthy diet is the optimal choice. However, for me, and I'm sure others, with the same kind of gut problems, some foods, no matter how good they are for you, are not tolerated.

For others, it makes them feel much better. I think our diets and how they work for us are as varied as our meds and how they work for us. I know if I eat more than 80 grams of carbs per day (normal being about twice that) I get very ill, while others need more carbs than recommended. Therefore a banana and an orange would not work for me, because they have more carbs than potassium. However, it obviously helps you, so go for it!

Hopefully people here understand we aren't telling them what and what not to do, only our own experiences. Just about everything with this illness is a trial and error process, including how and what we eat.

I personally find Beechnut baby food far more palatable than Gerbers, but someone else may do better with the Gerbers. So, I might prefer Beechnut, but would not attempt to force anyone to like it better, just because I do. morgan

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Lots of thoughts, low brain function tonight, please bear with me. I really enjoyed this post and want to add that there is a real movement to "eat local" otherwise know as a "low carbon diet." It is good for our bodies and the earth. Can you tell I run the earth day fair at our elementary school? Don't get me started!

Okay, so in my house I am on the high salt diet and a low acid diet (bladder), my daughter is a vegetarian, my husband is a meat guy, one son only likes white foods and an occasionaly burger, the other son is just confused by all this and tries to eat whatever I make. Dinner in my house is nuts! There are about 3 things that all the kids like (pasta based dishes - not hubby's favorite). Meanwhile I am trying to make these meals without feeling funky (I love the one about cooking with Rachel Ray and ending up on the floor). I try to cook in the am. I am usually pots free in the morning. Did I mention that I love to cook. It is the one creative thing I do and I love to feed people. I refuse to let POTS keep me from doing it. I cook in the am (sorry already mentioned that), chop sitting at the table, make multiple meals on Monday and spread them out over the week. The only thing that really bugs me is that for years I used no salt because I have high bp. It grosses me out to cook with so much salt. Plus if all I really want is a big salad it is kind of hard to get that salt in there. I drink broth all the time. Yuck.

Basically I have said very little of value here but I do believe in everything in moderation. SInce pots and the reoccurrence of my Interstitial cystitis I have really had to play around with what I can eat. Find what works and I do believe it will help you feel better. You are what you eat!

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I never said NOT TO eat this or that. Just SHARING my experience. Of course salt is helpful but many here have HIGH BP or it swings around.

Many of us have GUT issues that makes healthy raw foods/salads/most fruits IMPOSSIBLE to stomach, pun intended!! :P

Morgan posted she is on baby food. It's what she can eat for nutrition but I am sure she would love to be able to eat, quote 'HEALTHY adult food.' Many of us have such lower GI issues (some of you more than others) that a few trips to the bathroom can drop our electrolytes so fast it is not even FUNNY. I miss living on the cheap meals of bean soup or black bean soup..but now THOSE THINGS act like soy does..major cramping and horrible, well, never mind.

So it's a slippery slope. If you RE READ my posts I have positively tried them all. The vegetarian, vegan, GLUTEN FREE, and even the dairy free (Almond milk as I can NOT handle soy as it acts like poison on my stomach...MAJOR CRAMPING!!) Rice milk sky high in carbs.

So I do not think ANYBODY should be chastised into an eating plan that is working for us.

If eating SPECIAL DIETS didnt' do zilch, why do it? And most of those were years ago when I had a little more energy to cook!!! If you are semi bedbound or HORIZONTAL bound, cooking AIN't at the top of the list and if you live alone or with somebody that hardly cooks, well we do what we have to do to SURVIVE.

Extra salt and fluids some days, some protein. I clearly stated one can try them all. But if trying them all is a moot point and exhausting, don't chastise us for BEING HONEST is all I am saying.

oh, and if you are CLINICALLY low on potassium, a boat load of bananas is not going to help. Course trying to keep potassium up is good. But if you truly can not stomach the ACID in juice or the carbs in bananas, please do not make us feel like we are being negative.

Some of us been dealing with this stuff for 17 years on disability, and years before that.

So when I say I have been there, done that, it's not to be cynical, it's to be honest.

NOBODY can tell ANYBODY about their body. But CARBS are a no brainer to BE CAREFUL with, same with salt. But of course, experimenting with food is a good idea as it's not a medicine.

and a vegan diet has NO PURE protein and some of our bodies to not know how to transform and mix the amino acids to give our muscles the protein issues they need!!

My sister hated eating animals but felt worse and it almost did her in..so she started eating red meat again. at the advice of two nutritionist that were VEGETARIAN!! guess, what, HELPED her energy and she has no ANS issues.

Whatever works for people, fine.:)

Peace folks

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As I've said before, we are ALL different, and what works for one person may not help another. I'm not making blanket statements such as we should all eat salt!! I was just giving an obvious example of dietary changes that doctors have recommended to SOME patients for years, which apparently wasn't as obvious as I'd intended.

I apologize if my posting what I had eaten left anyone feeling defensive or offended or seemed dogmatic- it was certainly NOT intended as such...rather, I was only trying to describe in more detail HOW I am currently approaching food and to stress that there's no feeling of deprivation in it. And I'm certainly not wanting to pressure anyone into trying something they've no interest in. I don't chastise the meateaters with whom I share a kitchen, and I expect the same respect from them.

Believe me, I know all about electrolytes having spent late June in ICU in a coma after a lengthy hyponatremic seizure. I'm not planning to give up powerade or veggie broth. I am not clinically low in potassium at the moment. The fruit was recommended in combination with the licorace as the extract can deplete your potassium.

I also digest a smoothie a heck of a lot better than a bunch of fruit. Not that different from baby food- have tried plenty of that but had to add tons of salt.

This is not a debate over the merits of a raw or a vegetarian or vegan diet. Just as you didn't do well on a vegetarian diet, I am much better now that I don't have to digest meat. (And I'm very muscular.) If it works for you great, if not then oh well-move on to something new. Nor is it the place to attack someone's personal dietary choices because they happen to be less mainstream or because it didn't work for you personally. (This includes posting articles by ignorant, uneducated people who appoint themselves gurus of whatever.) I don't go on and on about meat being unhealthy and so forth. That's also why I don't need to post a list of success stories, because I know that we're all different!

Like the rest of you, I am on a journey to see what, if anything, works best for me. For example, chopping, stirring, etc is performed at the table.

I just don't think that it's appropriate to discourage anyone from trying new things, and that includes statemens like "a vegan diet has no pure protein," which I won't even bother to go into.

I know I'm young. I've been dealing with autonomic issues for 24 years, and I don't claim to be an expert. If you haven't noticed, I'm always hanging around to hear about people's experiences with such and such. I'm not on disability. I certainly could be, and it's been discussed in my family and with my doctors. But I plan to translate from my bed for as long as my mind can still string together relatively coherent statements. I know I don't know everything. That's why I'm so eager to learn as much as I can! I may stumble along the way, but that's part of life!

It's great to hear about your personal experiences. I appreciate your honesty- it can add some balance to the worldview, you know? But that's no reason to dismiss MY opinions AND experiences because of my age.

And by the way, I think I'm feeling better in part because I'm not eating so much soy, too. And less of the cramping and...whatever.

FYI there are plenty of so-called healthy foods that are NOT acidic.

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Kits, Before changing my diet and incorporating vitamins I was bed bound for three years, slept in excess of 14 hours a day (with a bucket by the bed no less), lived with constant nausea and had massive blood pressure drops with racing tach. After a gastroparesis study I became so sick from the nuclear meds that I didn't eat for three days. At the end of those three days (with no fluids as well) I figured my BP would be bottomed out. Instead, it was the exact opposite. So I deduced that I either needed to eat radioactive material every day or it was something I was putting in my mouth. From that day forward I excluded the following from my diet: gluten, dairy, caffeine, alcohol, fruit (which kills me) and sugar. I. feel. fantastic. The diet has bettered my health exponentailly. I no longer suffer from constant nausea (it's down to once every week or so for only a few minutes vs. unending hours), I have energy coming out of my ears, so much so that I was able to start a full time job working from home and my blood pressure and pulse are what I like to call 'sexy'. Completely normal. Stable at 112/72 up from 79/42. Resting pulse is at 72 down from 120. All I changed was my diet. !!!

Then I read about a dr. in ohio (derrick lonsdale) who specializes in dysautonomia and treating it through topical B1 vitamin. I was tested and came back deficient in B1. Now I take some oral vitamins as well as the topical application. I've been on the diet for 3 months and the vitamins for 1.5. My life has changed drastically for the better. I am still not what I would call 'normal' and I still suffer from dyautonomic episodes featuring gastroparesis, panic/anxiexty, difficulty regulating pupil dilation, insomnia (alpha/delta interruption), etc but I used to suffer these (and MANY other) symptoms at a level 8-10 on a scale of 1-10 and now my episodes register at about a 4 and are MUCH less frequent and are MUCH shorter in length when I do have an episode.

I would encourage you to work with your diet and see what works for you. I've noticed I also function best when I eat 5 small meals throughout the day and eat a balanced ratio of fat-protein-carbs at every meal. Very similar to the diet laid out in The Zone. I hope this is helpful to you. I have found such unexpected and blessed wellness from these simple changes. I take NO meds. None. Only vitamins (topical and oral) and diet changes.

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I try to have cooked brown rice in the fridge at all times. I can add any vegy to that and call it dinner. I also add any left over meats if I need more.

But If I'm feeling bad- headache or exhausted, I WILL have ice cream and peanut butter for dinner. I always feel much better. And I do wonder "what's up with that"?

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