Casein Free Diet Conundrum

[kdonov2]

it seems like a catch 22 for me. im 30 lbs underweight and struggling to gain, yet i am also attempting to heal my gut with a detox diet, which renders weight gain impossible. i am not sure which way to go to be healthy because i know im technically not even a qualified candidate for the diet because i am not being supervised by a physician and i also have a history of an eating disorder (not currently active but still triggering). my dilema is that my stomach reacts to ANYTHING and EVERYTHING unless i am on the elimination diet for several days, which in turn leads to more weight loss. at first, i had the idea to incorporate ensure into my diet to first gain weight before i return to detoxification, then i read that it contains casein. if i have this intolerance, is it so damaging to have casein even if might be able to help me put on weight? might taking ensure result in an overall health boost with temporary discomfort or are my bodily reactions to the protein actually causing harm? i was put on ensure when i was hospitalized for the eating disorder and rapidly gained weight. i was extraordinarily bloated and gassy though, which now makes a great deal of sense to me with my diagnosis and also makes me feel validated, as it was very frustrating to be in the hospital and have everyone tell you that all of your concerns are in your head or are normal. so far, i have found that i react terribly to protein and fats. i have great deal of difficulty digesting them despite all of the vitamins and digestive enzymes i take, which causes me to desire a normal, non bloated body that i only seem to acheive through what is probably an unhealthfully restrictive diet. as soon as i attempt to wean off of the regimen of pure fruit and vegetables, my body reacts. i am caught between two extremes and im losing hope. and i feel like just giving up because it seems that i will never attain a healthy body. i really dont know what to do anymore.

[OptimisticMom42]

Can you drink nut milks? Almond Milk, coconut milk?

[missy'smom]

avacados?

[AliB]

Fruit and veg is by far the best thing for healing if you can cope with them but as you say, likely not enough on their own to help you gain weight.

Can you cope with fish at all? Even small amounts? That is such a good way to get protein and good Omega fatty acids that can help the gut to heal. How about eggs? Cottage cheese? Tofu? Nuts? (They seem to encourage weight gain in me - and I need to be going the other way!) Peanut butter or peanuts? Some find that they can cope with some nuts but not others (I am following, like quite a few on here, the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) which is designed to help the gut, and the body, heal and we have all found that we can cope with some nuts but not others which takes a bit of experimenting)

Another possibility is to see if you could cope with Organic Virgin coconut oil. Although a saturated fat, it does not work in the body in the same way as animal fats and does not need bile for digestion, so that may be a way to get some good fat. As it also contains Lauric and Caprylic acid it is also good for combating pathogens in the gut too.

I have found that after taking the coconut oil for a little while I can now cope with some protein and other fats. I am still keeping my carbs low, as I definitely can't cope with those, but like you am ok with some fruit and most veg. As a bonus the higher fat ingestion has very much helped my 'elimination' process, too.

The reactions you are getting to protein and fats are your body's way of telling you it can't cope. It may be, that if your eating disorder necessitated you cutting most fat out of your diet, bile production may have been affected. That is not to say that it is an irreversible situation, but that your body may take some time to heal.

Have you had your gall bladder checked to see if stones may be a problem?

I had a similar situation with the Medical Profession seemingly unable to find anything wrong (not that they were looking very hard!) and being left to my own devices. By my own research and investigation I found a link between my symptoms and gluten-intolerance and dropping it gave me almost immediate relief. It has only been by making sure that my diet is virtually all natural though that has really helped the healing process.

I hope things improve for you.

Ali.