# can't seem to be able to enjoy any nice food



## Pinkett (Mar 21, 2010)

I find it very hard to be able to eat any nice food without having to rely on gluten free foodThings I cant eat, things that makes my IBS go off:*White Bread*Rice*Potato*Curry*Wraps*Nuts*Chicken Nuggets*Pasta*Pastery*Beansand the list goes on...


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## HenryD (Mar 18, 2010)

Hello Pinkett.I am sorry to hear that you have such a long list of nice foods that you can't enjoy.Have you tried eating any of these foods in small portions just as little snacks in between meals or as occasional treats? If you approach these foods in this way then maybe you'll be able to enjoy them without triggering your IBS.H.


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## Pinkett (Mar 21, 2010)

yes i have tried that and it still doesnt help


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Chicken nuggets are nice food? They are high fat and breaded and can make someone with normal digestion have issues.Now sticking to plainer food (so no heavy, rich, fatty sauces) can help as high fat meals can be hard on anyone.Now a lot of people have issues no matter what they eat but trying a couple of weeks of a low carb diet to see if that helps, or a couple of weeks of a higher fiber diet may help.If you get sick no matter what you eat then eat what you like (with in reason and hopefully something healthier than chicken nuggets like grilled chicken breast) and try other things to deal with IBS.It is not true that every IBSer will find some perfect diet that will cause no symptoms. Highly disordered eating (either skipping meals or eating a very limited or unbalanced diet) will make the IBS worse than eating 4 small meals a day that are relatively low in fat and made up of healthy foods that provide good nutrition.You don't need starch to have well balanced meals. Cooking veggies rather than raw is usually helpful as well.


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## HenryD (Mar 18, 2010)

Kathleen M. said:


> Chicken nuggets are nice food? They are high fat and breaded and can make someone with normal digestion have issues.Now sticking to plainer food (so no heavy, rich, fatty sauces) can help as high fat meals can be hard on anyone.Now a lot of people have issues no matter what they eat but trying a couple of weeks of a low carb diet to see if that helps, or a couple of weeks of a higher fiber diet may help.If you get sick no matter what you eat then eat what you like (with in reason and hopefully something healthier than chicken nuggets like grilled chicken breast) and try other things to deal with IBS.It is not true that every IBSer will find some perfect diet that will cause no symptoms. Highly disordered eating (either skipping meals or eating a very limited or unbalanced diet) will make the IBS worse than eating 4 small meals a day that are relatively low in fat and made up of healthy foods that provide good nutrition.You don't need starch to have well balanced meals. Cooking veggies rather than raw is usually helpful as well.


Kathleen M, you are right. But what I meant was that chicken nuggets are tasty. They are not good for you, but tasty!







I think Pinkett would agree with me!


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

They are tasty, but I usually think of them as food that is "slumming" what I get when I'm being bad and eating fast food.Usually for me "nice food" isn't from the driv-thru.Unfortunately a lot of the grease and salt and other food additives tend to make them kind of addictive, so a lot of people eat them a lot more than they should.


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## Patman75 (Mar 9, 2008)

Enjoying life is not about the foods we can or can't eat.It is about spending time with the people we love.Until you come to terms with that you will be stuck in the endless cycle of "boo hoo, I can't eat this or that."Chicken nuggets are not good food and your list is not very restrictive.


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## Pinkett (Mar 21, 2010)

Patman75 - i'm trying to be as honest as i can be here, so cut me a little bit of slack, yes i know i eat bad things and as of late have changed that way of eating


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## Patman75 (Mar 9, 2008)

Pinkett,What exactly are you trying to get out of this topic? Are you looking for Gluten free foods? Gluten free recipes? Looking for support?All the items you listed that you can't eat are high in resistant starch and unhealhly fats. It is not surprising that you can't eat them. When resistant startch is not digested in the small intestine it creates food for whatever microbe that is in you Large intestine, those microbes byproducts can cause all sorts of problems.Are you following a healing diet? Do have a plan to get yourself better? Are you looking for a plan.We are all here to help but we need to know what you are looking for.


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## HenryD (Mar 18, 2010)

Patman75 said:


> Pinkett,What exactly are you trying to get out of this topic? Are you looking for Gluten free foods? Gluten free recipes? Looking for support?All the items you listed that you can't eat are high in resistant starch and unhealhly fats. It is not surprising that you can't eat them. When resistant startch is not digested in the small intestine it creates food for whatever microbe that is in you Large intestine, those microbes byproducts can cause all sorts of problems.Are you following a healing diet? Do have a plan to get yourself better? Are you looking for a plan.We are all here to help but we need to know what you are looking for.


You are right, enjoying life is about spending time with the people we love. But some nice and appropriate food can only add to the experience! I think you are being a bit harsh on Pinkett. Pinkett wants ideas and advice for a good diet AND some support!


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## Patman75 (Mar 9, 2008)

HenryD said:


> I think you are being a bit harsh on Pinkett. Pinkett wants ideas and advice for a good diet AND some support!


Are you sure that what Pinkett wants?


> I find it very hard to be able to eat any nice food without having to rely on gluten free foodThings I cant eat, things that makes my IBS go off:*White Bread*Rice*Potato*Curry*Wraps*Nuts*Chicken Nuggets*Pasta*Pastery*Beansand the list goes on...


From the oringal post I'm not sure what Pinkett is just asking or just venting. I can only respond to what Pinkett wrote, I'm not a mind reader. Read my second post, I have tried to figure out what Pinkett is getting to.


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## HenryD (Mar 18, 2010)

Patman75 said:


> Are you sure that what Pinkett wants?From the oringal post I'm not sure what Pinkett is just asking or just venting. I can only respond to what Pinkett wrote, I'm not a mind reader. Read my second post, I have tried to figure out what Pinkett is getting to.


I am not a mind reader, either. But I don't think you need to be one in order to get some idea of what Pinkett wants, you just need a bit of empathy and I'm good at empathising with people! Even if Pinkett is 'just venting', I think we should all still share as much of our experiences and knowledge as we can to make this place as friendly, supportive and helpful as it can be to anyone affected in any way by IBS.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

One cookbook I got recently I can recommend for those that get junkfood/greasy food cravings and can still eat a fair variety of foods. Now Eat This by DiSpirito which is a lower fat take on a lot of classic comfort/junk foods people like to eat.Some of the substitutions won't work for everyone, but a lot of them are tasty.For people with a lot of trouble with carbs/starch I find some of the South Beach Diet Books have some tasty low carb things to eat and some of that may work.I know it is a pain when you can't eat foods you are used to or really like. There are a lot of alternatives out there and finding foods you can eat and that you can love can help a lot. If you are eating food you enjoy you tend not to miss what you have to avoid.


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## Patman75 (Mar 9, 2008)

HenryD said:


> I am not a mind reader, either. But I don't think you need to be one in order to get some idea of what Pinkett wants, you just need a bit of empathy and I'm good at empathising with people! Even if Pinkett is 'just venting', I think we should all still share as much of our experiences and knowledge as we can to make this place as friendly, supportive and helpful as it can be to anyone affected in any way by IBS.


Emotion is hard to judge on an email. Many people take advice the wrong way when someone suggest something that hits close too home and the truth hurts sometimes. What I think is a neutral tone; someone might take that as being mean or what ever.







As far needing more empathy&#8230; Yah, I have been helping and empathizing with strangers on this forum, my CCFA group, countless friends, family and friends of family for the last 2 years.Feel free to read what I have done to improve my quality of life. http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=94551


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## HenryD (Mar 18, 2010)

Patman75 said:


> Emotion is hard to judge on an email. Many people take advice the wrong way when someone suggest something that hits close too home and the truth hurts sometimes. What I think is a neutral tone; someone might take that as being mean or what ever.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you for sharing with me your story.Wow, you are a great example of someone who has taken their health and well-being into their own hands, away from some unhelpful generalist doctors and turned the quality of their life around. You have achieved health through self-empowerment!


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## IhateGERD (May 13, 2010)

I know...I used to eat very good food. Now I just try to stick bland grilled chicken sandwiches and if I am feeling really wild I'll add lettuce. Has anyone ever thought of just drinking your meals. Like having a health shake in the morning and at lunch???


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## HenryD (Mar 18, 2010)

IhateGERD said:


> I know...I used to eat very good food. Now I just try to stick bland grilled chicken sandwiches and if I am feeling really wild I'll add lettuce. Has anyone ever thought of just drinking your meals. Like having a health shake in the morning and at lunch???


Great idea. Does anybody have any more info on this?


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## KimEatandBe (Mar 11, 2010)

Hi there.I am not exactly sure about your dietary restrictions, but I feel like I eat a LOT of nice food (I love to eat!) and have learned how to manage that with my IBS. I suffer from IBS-C, severe gas/bloating. You may find some inspiration as I write about what I eat every single day, and how it effects my IBS. You can check it out at www.eatandbe.com.hope you find the support you need!Kim


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## HenryD (Mar 18, 2010)

Pinkett said:


> I find it very hard to be able to eat any nice food without having to rely on gluten free foodThings I cant eat, things that makes my IBS go off:*White Bread*Rice*Potato*Curry*Wraps*Nuts*Chicken Nuggets*Pasta*Pastery*Beansand the list goes on...


Thank you for sharing this with us. For me, pasta, potatoes, white bread and pastery give the worst effects. Which foods in particular can you eat?


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## ziggy7 (Oct 24, 2009)

hi il share my food list too hope it helps someone first il list perfect foods perfect foods mean i can eat them everyday and as much as i want with out any problems at allunsalted butter with lactic cultures and or grass fed buttereggsaverage factory raised turkey liver and heartgrass fed cow liverbone marrowgrass fed meatscod liver oilnote: ya i can't eat grain fed cow liver but i can eat grain fed turkey livernote: organic beef does not mean grass fededit : only 1 very small serving of animal organs per day is allowed for first 6 months of diet-------------------now il list good foods these foods are mostly ok but not perfect but i still can eat them everyday with basically no problemsbuttermeathard feta cheese > only 1 serving perday is allowedraspberries > avoid for first 3 months of this diet------------------------------and now my normal foods these foods i can eat every day or other day and mostly no problemsbroccolicalliflowercelery > avoid for first 6 months of this dietedit: removed some types of hard cheese its too confuseing just stick with hard feta cheese only for first 6 months of dietblueberries > avoid for first 6 months of this dietsolar d gems 4000 IU made by carlson it's a vitamin D3 pill only take it if you dont get sunlight and i have never tested these with a damaged stomach so you may need to avoid them for the first 6 months.note: i think i can drink raw milk however i have never had the chance to try itnote: you must cut most of the stem off of the broccoli and eat mostly just the top flower parts. don't eat any stems-------------------------------------------and now my below average foods these foods i can eat but they do cause slight problems so i only eat them once a week or lessedit: removed fresh almonds from this listedit: removed almond flour from this listsome other vegetables can't think of anymorenote: almonds must be fresh and not from some bag of old mixed nuts--------------------------------------------------------only drink water and lots of italso note: be very careful to eat just the types of cheese i say are ok cause eating a bad cheese like a cream cheese can cause huge problems.also don't cook any food with a crock pot and don't over cook foods.basically all other foods that are not on this list cause me problems or i have never been able to try them yet or never been able to try them yet while in there natural state.if you cook a steak in butter your ok but if you cook a steak in olive oil it will hurt your gut. so remember if you give this a try stick to it exactly.also know eating a diet like this will make you enter ketosis and if you have never experienced ketosis before just know it will make you feel crappy for about a week for a number of reasons, switching to a fat burning metabolism, burning fat as energy and since toxins are stored in your fat cells they are released and flushed out of your body, but after your body has experienced it it will be much easier to enter it the next time. it's a system that hasn't been used for along time because of all the high carb foods these days. heres more info on ithttp://www.biblelife.org/ketosis.htmdepending how damaged your stomach is it could take atleast a few months of eating like this before it is healthy. and after it is healthy you could maybe try testing 1 new food each week and see how it go'sand never eat or drink any soy at all not even soy lecithinhttp://www.westonaprice.org/soy-alert.htmlalso note: some IBS can be caused by a lack of vitamin D3. if you don't go out in the sun at noon time then you should be takeing solar D gems. and it must be carlsons solar D gems cause other brands are not made good and have bad ingredients in the pills. andalso if you do go outside don't use sunscreen cause it blocks 95-99% of vitamin D3 and it also does many more terrible things so don't use it. and also don't wash with soap or anything till you have waited atleast 30-45 mins after being out in the sun for atleast 15 mins at noon time cause it takes your body atleast 30-45 mins to absorb the vitamin D3 that landed on your skin from the sun or longer and you don't want soap washing it off before then.also this could be an extremely important onethe water you drink could be severely poisoning you just look at what this link sayshttp://home.mytelus.com/telusen/portal/NewsChannel.aspx?ArticleID=news/capfeed/national/EG670t.xml&CatID=Nationalalso all across western lands meds and hormones are leaked into the water supply in many places it's really not safe to drink because the filter system's in place can't filter that stuff out.so a reverse osmosis water filter system is neededhttp://www.waterfiltersonline.com/detail.asp?product_id=5_Stage_ROanyways this is my exp with IBS-D and my foods that i mostly only eat now. but i have learned that IBS is a very tricky disease. it is not like other diseases i know of that mostly all have the same path for each person to being cured. so for IBS what cures one person may not cure another. and for some more info i have never sufferd from constipation only IBS-D anyways hope this info helps


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## HenryD (Mar 18, 2010)

ziggy7 said:


> hi il share my food list too hope it helps someone first il list perfect foods perfect foods mean i can eat them everyday and as much as i want with out any problems at allunsalted butter with lactic cultures and or grass fed buttereggsaverage factory raised turkey liver and heartgrass fed cow liverbone marrowgrass fed meatscod liver oilnote: ya i can't eat grain fed cow liver but i can eat grain fed turkey livernote: organic beef does not mean grass fed-------------------now il list good foods these foods are mostly ok but not perfect but i still can eat them everyday with basically no problemsbuttermeatsome feta cheeseraspberries------------------------------and now my normal foods these foods i can eat every day or other day and mostly no problemsbroccolicalliflowercelerysome types of hard cheeseblueberriessolar d gems 4000 IU made by carlson it's a vitamin D3 pill i can handle 1-2 per day easynote: i think i can drink raw milk however i have never had the chance to try itnote: you must cut most of the stem off of the broccoli and eat mostly just the top flower parts. don't eat any stems-------------------------------------------and now my below average foods these foods i can eat but they do cause slight problems so i only eat them once a week or lessfresh almondsalmond floursome other vegetables can't think of anymorenote: almonds must be fresh and not from some bag of old mixed nuts--------------------------------------------------------only drink water and lots of italso note: be very careful to eat just the types of cheese i say are ok cause eating a bad cheese like a cream cheese can cause huge problems.also don't cook any food with a crock pot and don't over cook foods.basically all other foods that are not on this list cause me problems or i have never been able to try them yet or never been able to try them yet while in there natural state.if you cook a steak in butter your ok but if you cook a steak in olive oil it will hurt your gut. so remember if you give this a try stick to it exactly.also know eating a diet like this will make you enter ketosis and if you have never experienced ketosis before just know it will make you feel crappy for about a week for a number of reasons, switching to a fat burning metabolism, burning fat as energy and since toxins are stored in your fat cells they are released and flushed out of your body, but after your body has experienced it it will be much easier to enter it the next time. it's a system that hasn't been used for along time because of all the high carb foods these days. heres more info on ithttp://www.biblelife.org/ketosis.htmdepending how damaged your stomach is it could take atleast a few months of eating like this before it is healthy. and after it is healthy you could maybe try testing 1 new food each week and see how it go'sand never eat or drink any soy at all not even soy lecithinhttp://www.westonaprice.org/soy-alert.htmlalso note: some IBS can be caused by a lack of vitamin D3. if you don't go out in the sun at noon time then you should be takeing solar D gems. and it must be carlsons solar D gems cause other brands are not made good and have bad ingredients in the pills. andalso if you do go outside don't use sunscreen cause it blocks 95-99% of vitamin D3 and it also does many more terrible things so don't use it. and also don't wash with soap or anything till you have waited atleast 30-45 mins after being out in the sun for atleast 15 mins at noon time cause it takes your body atleast 30-45 mins to absorb the vitamin D3 that landed on your skin from the sun or longer and you don't want soap washing it off before then.also this could be an extremely important onethe water you drink could be severely poisoning you just look at what this link sayshttp://home.mytelus.com/telusen/portal/NewsChannel.aspx?ArticleID=news/capfeed/national/EG670t.xml&CatID=Nationalalso all across western lands meds and hormones are leaked into the water supply in many places it's really not safe to drink because the filter system's in place can't filter that stuff out.so a reverse osmosis water filter system is neededhttp://www.waterfiltersonline.com/detail.asp?product_id=5_Stage_ROanyways this is my exp with IBS-D and my foods that i mostly only eat now. but i have learned that IBS is a very tricky disease. it is not like other diseases i know of that mostly all have the same path for each person to being cured. so for IBS what cures one person may not cure another. and for some more info i have never sufferd from constipation only IBS-D anyways hope this info helps


Thank you ziggy7. This is very interesting and useful.


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## ziggy7 (Oct 24, 2009)

You're welcome HenryD edit: also im going to remove almond flour from the list i just tried it out again and had a terrible reaction to it.


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## HenryD (Mar 18, 2010)

ziggy7 said:


> You're welcome HenryD edit: also im going to remove almond flour from the list i just tried it out again and had a terrible reaction to it.


Thank you Ziggy7!I am sorry to about the problems you had with almond flour. So how come it was on your list originally?


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## ziggy7 (Oct 24, 2009)

when i first put almond flour on my list i was thinking of more foods to add cause the diet was soo strict and i remembered one time i had it and just had slight problems so i thought it would be ok to add but i made a huge mistake really almond flour is not a ok food.i should remove almonds too.i have also realized when my stomach healed i was in ketosis so maybe i should edit my diet slightly to make sure for the first 6 months you will be in ketosis while following it so here is an updated version first il list perfect foods perfect foods mean i can eat them everyday and as much as i want with out any problems at allunsalted butter with lactic cultures and or grass fed buttereggsaverage factory raised turkey liver and heartgrass fed cow liverbone marrowgrass fed meatscod liver oilnote: ya i can't eat grain fed cow liver but i can eat grain fed turkey livernote: organic beef does not mean grass fededit : only 1 small serving of animal organs per day is allowed for the first 6th months of the diet-------------------now il list good foods these foods are mostly ok but not perfect but i still can eat them everyday with basically no problemsbuttermeathard feta cheese > only 1 serving of cheese perday is allowedraspberries > avoid for first 3 months of this diet------------------------------and now my normal foods these foods i can eat every day or other day and mostly no problemsbroccolicalliflowercelery > avoid for first 6 months of this diet i have never really tested celery when my stomach was damaged.blueberries > avoid for first 6 months of this dietnote: i think i can drink raw milk however i have never had the chance to try itnote: you must cut most of the stem off of the broccoli and eat mostly just the top flower parts. don't eat any stems-------------------------------------------solar d gems 4000 IU made by carlson it's a vitamin D3 pill only take it if you dont get sunlight and i have never tested these with a damaged stomach so you may need to avoid them for the first 6 months.other hard cheese besides hard feta cheese may be ok however it is too risky to figure out which ones are safe so for the first 6 months avoid other testing other cheeses as well.if your stomach is fully healed before 6 months you could try testing out new foods as early as the 3rd month.oh and do not over cook your eggs try to eat them with runny egg yolks still and or if you scamble them dont over cook them try to eat them even when there still a little runny.also some people can be allergic to eggs and or broccoli so becareful.hope this update helps


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## HenryD (Mar 18, 2010)

ziggy7 said:


> when i first put almond flour on my list i was thinking of more foods to add cause the diet was soo strict and i remembered one time i had it and just had slight problems so i thought it would be ok to add but i made a huge mistake really almond flour is not a ok food.i should remove almonds too.i have also realized when my stomach healed i was in ketosis so maybe i should edit my diet slightly to make sure for the first 6 months you will be in ketosis while following it so here is an updated version first il list perfect foods perfect foods mean i can eat them everyday and as much as i want with out any problems at allunsalted butter with lactic cultures and or grass fed buttereggsaverage factory raised turkey liver and heartgrass fed cow liverbone marrowgrass fed meatscod liver oilnote: ya i can't eat grain fed cow liver but i can eat grain fed turkey livernote: organic beef does not mean grass fededit : only 1 small serving of animal organs per day is allowed for the first 6th months of the diet-------------------now il list good foods these foods are mostly ok but not perfect but i still can eat them everyday with basically no problemsbuttermeathard feta cheese > only 1 serving of cheese perday is allowedraspberries > avoid for first 3 months of this diet------------------------------and now my normal foods these foods i can eat every day or other day and mostly no problemsbroccolicalliflowercelery > avoid for first 6 months of this diet i have never really tested celery when my stomach was damaged.blueberries > avoid for first 6 months of this dietnote: i think i can drink raw milk however i have never had the chance to try itnote: you must cut most of the stem off of the broccoli and eat mostly just the top flower parts. don't eat any stems-------------------------------------------solar d gems 4000 IU made by carlson it's a vitamin D3 pill only take it if you dont get sunlight and i have never tested these with a damaged stomach so you may need to avoid them for the first 6 months.other hard cheese besides hard feta cheese may be ok however it is too risky to figure out which ones are safe so for the first 6 months avoid other testing other cheeses as well.if your stomach is fully healed before 6 months you could try testing out new foods as early as the 3rd month.oh and do not over cook your eggs try to eat them with runny egg yolks still and or if you scamble them dont over cook them try to eat them even when there still a little runny.also some people can be allergic to eggs and or broccoli so becareful.hope this update helps


Thank you! This is so helpful.


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## Dagmar (Aug 31, 2010)

I am finding it strange that potato and rice is part of the food stuff that you cant tolerate. Are you keeping them fairly simple and plain? If you are having gluten issues and you are eating gluten, perhaps that is why you are having trouble with everything. Try going gluten-free for awhile and you might be able to start tolerating other things. There are wonderful gluten-free alternatives out there if you research it. I really like chicken nuggets once in awhile too.


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## ziggy7 (Oct 24, 2009)

well actually it seems i can eat brown rice which is gluten free and i am reasonabley ok after eating it. not something i would eat everyday but maybe once in a while.however for someone just starting this diet and with a damaged stomach i think they should only eat the best of best foods for the first 6 months. foods that will help heal there stomach.but ya now a days i guess i can eat brown rice and maybe other gluten free foods once in a while i found this link with recipes maybe they would be ok for mehttp://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/493-going-gluten-free.htmlsept i would need to alter alot like no dairy sept the most hard of cheeses, and no almond flour one day i had a really bad reaction too it. and no coconut im allergic to it







and also i don't want to eat any food that is blood sugar spikeing and even fruit is pushing it for me as far as blood sugar spikeing go's but berries tend to be ok. but still il eat rice and fruit very rarely a little once in a while now that im healthy seems ok.also this gluten free link looks very helpful. it talks about healing the gut and also warns about which foods that even though are gluten free will damage and prevent healing of your gut.http://www.westonaprice.org/soy-alert/1968-the-little-known-soy-gluten-connection.html


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## Yarm (Sep 18, 2010)

Can't wait to check out your blog. I have been trying to manage my ibs and stay medication free. I also have many foods that I can't eat (too much fats, citrus, olives, chocolate, dairy, red meat, certain legumes, nuts and seeds, most raw vegetables, onions, garlic, white flour, rice, pasta, bananas.... and the list goes on. I do make the most delicious soups (watercress for example) and green vegetables are a large part of my diet.I love what someone said about life being more than what you can or cannot eat. I will remember that!


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## raym0nd (Nov 28, 2010)

avoid non vegetarian food,our intestines are not designed for that...although some people may be able to "handle" it once in a while...try veggies...avoid bread made of cornflour...corn aggravates constipation in many people...wheat in some other cases...experiment and see what works for you...if something hurts...THEN MENTALLY PREPARE YOURSELF TO STOP EATING IT FOREVER...its not easy...but you have to do it...what do you want to be-dull,unproductive,suffering OR alert and happy...choice is yours...


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