The Autoimmune Solution - Amy Myers and Susan Blum books

gettingready

Hi Lesson Learned - good to see you here.

Congratulations to your son and his g/f

Is she having an ANA/ANF test done? Normal blood tests never pick up any autoimmune issues, ANA/ANF shuoul.. that would be a starting point..

My grandmother was a kind of herbalist too - always picking up and drying various green thingys .. also read cards so you can imagine what she may have been called by neighbours

I am still reading both books and won't be doing any drastic changes till I finish them.

Lack of understanding/acceptance/solutions within medical profession was not a surprise - I work in NHS....

Legumes and nightshade vegetables info were a shock to be honest... as I do not eat meat so at some point started thinking - well, what am I supposed to eat and scratch my head.

BUT the way both books go is very logical so I will keep on reading...

lessonlearned

I should imagine being a vegetarian makes any kind of exclusion diet much harder, because you won't be getting protein from animal or fish sources. I really don't know very much about soya substitutes.
Soya doesn't like me so I leave it alone

Stone Age humans were carnivores.

I have been experimenting with a Paleo type diet, although I have kept dairy, although I now use nut milks in smoothies rather than cows milk.

I too had an eye opener about nightshade plants and legumes. I had already stopped eating ordinary potatoes because of their high starch content but I had no idea about tomatoes etc

I've swapped potatoes for root veg such as sweet potatoes, parsnips etc.

Adopting a Paleo light diet enabled me to sort out my IBS and GORD. To sort out my Fibro I now need to take it a stage further and cut out caffeine, sugars, alcohol and the aptly named "deadly nightshades" :rotfl:

I know going completely grain free and avoiding White starchy carbs might sound very restrictive but I've found I can eat well.

I'm a girl who likes her food and would hate to feel deprived but I think if you enjoy cooking and can experiment a bit then your diet needn't be bland or boring.

I can truthfully say I no longer miss potatoes or grains. In fact I now hate the smell of supermarket bread, it makes me gag now. I still have the occasional bit of bread but only from a good bAker and none of this Chorley Wood processed muck.

My next step is to get a grip with Paleo friendly baking, So I can make bread, cakes etc.

After what I learned about my husbands Cerebellar Ataxia and how it might have been gluten related I shall be encouraging my sons to seriously reduce their gluten intake. The elder boy will be joining his wife to be on a gluten exclusion diet so I neednt fret too much about him. It's the younger one who lives with me who is the cake fiend and who, if left to his own devices would live on junk food.

He's going to be a hard nut to crack, so a bit of stealth Paleo will be called for.:rotfl:

My granny also delivered babies and read tea leaves......my other granny was a fully qualified midwife, but as she was Belgian and I didn't speak a word of Flemmish and she didn't speak English I never really learned much from her. Pity because she was very knowledgeable about what we now call complimentary medicine.

Generally it's such a shame that so much traditional knowledge hAs been lost. We've allowed ourselves to be held in thrall to the big drug companies.

Popping pills is not the answer, we have to look deeper at cause and effect.

Thank goodness for the Internet and forums where people freely share their knowledge.

skint_chick

I follow the auto immune protocol except I've added in a handful of nuts and a little cheese every week. It was quite easy to cut out the grains, I've swapped my breakfast cereal for homemade pork or turkey burgers and for lunch I have fish and veg then dinner is meat with sweet potato and veg. I got coconut flour and gelatine online and use these as flour and egg substitutes for baking - but I mostly work round cakes and bread now and have something else instead - mousses made with coconut cream, jelly made with fruit and gelatine, flatbread made with the coconut flour. I've never felt better since making the change and as an added bonus my skin and hair are looking amazing my nails grow really fast and strong and I have so much more energy.

gettingready

Hi again Skint Chick

Good it works for you.

Myself I do not eat meat so any meat or gelatine is not gonna work for me.

Daughter eats meat but need to find some happy middle here as no point cooking twice if we live together for the moment.

I had no idea eggs are ok on Paleo? In both books I read eggs are a big no no... and nuts...

I love chic peas, cous cous, sun dried tomatoes - apparently all bad for me so would be bad for my daughter even more...

hmmm

lessonlearned

Skint chick

Can I just ask what type of cocunut cream you use. Is it the stuff in blocks.

Great to hear that you are feeling so well.

I'm looking forward to a having an energy surge .......

lessonlearned

Getting ready

The nutritionist gave me a list of substitutions..

Apparently you can get gluten free Cous cous. If not then quinoa, which is seed and not wheat.

She said try ASDA or Sainsburys, cheaper than health shops.

Butter beans for chick peas, you can still use them to make hummus.

Buckwheat flour - not from wheat, it's a seed. Apparently great for pancakes.

Amarinth flour, coconut flour, almond flour or very finely ground almonds.

My local ASDA does the best Free From range ive found, but Sainsbury's are also good.

If not then obviously health shops. However Ive had a quick look online and Amazon looks a lot cheaper, same for vitamins and supplements.

I was feeling lazy last night and there was nothing I fancied on the TV so I watched The film "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead 2" and then a documentary about obesity in children in America.

My God what an eye opener that was.....14 year olds having bariatric surgery because their parents hadnt a clue. I'm sorry but to me that's child abuse.

As for the healthy eating guidelines. Apparently the school boards in America class pizza as a vegetable. And apparently drinking "soda" ie Coca Cola is just the same as drinking water:eek:

It was truly shocking but unfortunately the UK seems to be going in the same direction.

Half the time The medical profession colludes with it all, and the drug companies make fortunes.........meanwhile ordinary people just get sicker and sicker:mad::mad:

Oh dear can't you just tell I'm on a crusade.......:rotfl:

I emailed my old college yesterday to make enquiries about their complimentary therapy and diet and nutrition courses. I've missed the April intake so am aiming for September.

lessonlearned

Just remembered the title of that documentary was "Fed Up" if anyone wants to watch it.

FLA27

I just wanted to pop into this thread to say thanks for raising the subject of Nightshade Intolerance. I discovered I had a problem with nightshade a couple of years ago after a nasty run in with Goji Berries (also a nightshade) which left me with breathing difficulties, fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, burning itching around ankles, and psoriasis-like skin patches. My symptoms seemed to be a much more intense version of what I had always lived with and considered 'normal'.

Initially I tried the low oxalate diet and cut out potatoes first. I was amazed when it actually made a difference after just a couple of weeks, even my rosacea cleared up. After googling potato intolerance, I discovered the nightshade problem. So many pieces of the puzzle fell into place, especially with me being a life-long potato crisp addict!

Apart from Primary Raynauds syndrome, I don't have a diagnosed auto-immune condition. I do feel I have dodged a bit of bullet by going Nightshade free, for a while I didn't know how much longer I could tough it out.

Goodluck in your auto-immune journeys.

gettingready

Cous cous requires no cooking/washing up so was my favourite really. And chick peas.

Love cous cous mixed with tinned chick peas, sun dried tomatoes (and a bit of oil from the jar), fried quorn "chicken pieces" ad fresh coriander all mixed together - now dropping chick peas, cous cous and sun dried tomatoes.. just coriander with quorn? LOL

It is very difficult to plan decent meals with minimum time, lots of restrictions etc - I do not buy ready meals, cook everything from scratch but it is a lot to take onboard.

Tomatoes and potatoes or rather having avoid both will be tought.

Still have not finished my books, still digging.

Happy to see other people on here too - keep posting xx

gettingready

re nightshades - if anyone is interested

http://www.diagnosisdiet.com/nightshades/