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Bacterial Overgrowth - Specific Carbohydrate Diet?

lucia

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lucia Enthusiast
lucia
Posted

Through a combination of an elimination diet and a food diary, I've concluded that, yes, everything I put into my gut is making me sick. Even when I drink water, I am getting some cramping of my stomach. I think I'm getting the most severe cramps from sweet potatos, bananas, and rice, which are starchy. I think I must have bacterial overgrowth. Does that sound like a valid assessment?

I've read that the Specific Carbohydrate Diet will cure bacterial overgrowth (usually in combination with probiotics). Does that mean if I start eating foods off of this diet that I'll start to feel better? I know that total recovery takes awhile, but will I get some relief right away?

I am going to talk to a doctor about this. I have an appointment (finally) with the Celiac Center at Columbia this Friday. I know that a doctor can test for bacterial overgrowth. In the meantime, I'm in a lot of pain. I'm trying to decide what to do until I can talk to a specialist. Does anyone have any advice?

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MissyJoy Rookie
MissyJoy
Posted

I was on a very strict diet for over 2 years to get rid of an intestinal yeast over growth. I went to a nutritionist and her plan had two parts to it. 1 - Starve the yeast and 2 - Kill the yeast.

1. to startve the yeast, I had to avoid all food with simple sugars in them, including fruits, potatoes, corn, all dairy, and all grains, except 1/2 cup of Brown rice a day.

2. To kill the yeast, I took 8 drops of Grapefruit Seed extract in a large glass of water a day. Plus took probiotics without food and at bed time.

Being on this diet and taking those supplements really helped me, but it is an intense diet and can take a while.....

brendab Contributor
brendab
Posted

I was on a very strict diet for over 2 years to get rid of an intestinal yeast over growth. I went to a nutritionist and her plan had two parts to it. 1 - Starve the yeast and 2 - Kill the yeast.

1. to startve the yeast, I had to avoid all food with simple sugars in them, including fruits, potatoes, corn, all dairy, and all grains, except 1/2 cup of Brown rice a day.

2. To kill the yeast, I took 8 drops of Grapefruit Seed extract in a large glass of water a day. Plus took probiotics without food and at bed time.

Being on this diet and taking those supplements really helped me, but it is an intense diet and can take a while.....

I second this diet!

Look at your tongue.......does it have a white coating to it? That is yeast.

lucia Enthusiast
lucia
Posted
  • Author

Look at your tongue.......does it have a white coating to it? That is yeast.

My tongue looks like it is wrapped up in white fur. :(

cassP Contributor
cassP
Posted

Lucia- how long have u been gluten free? and before that - how MUCH gluten was in your diet? i DID have the issue with even JUST WATER- i remember it at work one day- i was fine, and then i just drank a glass of water- and i felt gurgles in my intestines & thought i was gonna have the "D"- & i even complained about how even JUST WATER was messing me up! it was ridiculous.... but i havent felt that in a few years.

im still having issues tho w/ fructose & sugar & grains... little white tongue... need to go back to NO CARBS- just so hard... soon tho

u WILL feel better- just gonna take a little more time & a strict diet- & i also love the GSE

lucia Enthusiast
lucia
Posted
  • Author

I've been gluten free now for 4 and 1/2 long months. At first, my GI symptoms receded entirely unless I accidentally consumed gluten. Then, one by one, I became intolerant to foods, including all dairy, soy, and corn. It's only been recently that I get cramps no matter what I eat or drink.

I had a pretty healthy diet before I stopped eating gluten - lots of whole fruits and veggies, and little sugar and processed foods. I struggled with fibromyalgia in my 20s and was only able to find relief through diet and exercise, so I was motivated to eat healthfully. I still ate a fair amount of gluten though, like most Americans.

GlutenFreeManna Rising Star
GlutenFreeManna
Posted

It sounds like you may have a problem with intestinal yeast. I originally suspected my problem could be yeast when I did my elimination diet and I eliminated all grains, sugars and carby vegetables as well. I was quite surprised when after a month I could add in potatoes and corn without symptoms, but wheat and dairy gave my bad reactions. Then I did more research on celiac/gluten intolerance and figured out that that was really my problem. You may be the opposite--you may have intestinal yeast and not celiac (unless you have +test results). Or you could have both. Anyway, when I was first looking into yeast/candida I stumbled upon a very long thread on a low-carb website. It is very long, but it was a wealth of information. And you can get a lot out of it even if you just read a few pages. People post their symptoms and what they eat and supplements they take, etc. The thing about yeast (if that's your problem) is it seems there are a NUMBER of different approaches to dealing with it. Some sites say no fruit at all, other say only unsweetened berries and lemon are okay, others say fruit is fine in moderation...Some say you need to do diet AND supplements (anti-fungals) to be effective, others say you can just do diet or just do anti-fungal meds (nystatins) to kill the yeast and probiotics to build good bacteria. It's not very scientific and it seems like there's tons of conflicting advice. So you have to figure out what works for you. Here's the thread in case you are interested in reading it: Open Original Shared Link

I really hope you figure out what's bothering you soon.

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Kathleen Smith Contributor
Kathleen Smith
Posted

Hi Lucia,

I have been going to the Celiac Disease Research Center in Columbia myself! I went there because I am a year and half into Gluten Free diet and my GI symptoms of nausea are horrible. It seems no matter what eat, just by eating i get sick.

Good luck to you!

cassP Contributor
cassP
Posted

i wonder if some of us just have overburdened & tired Livers and Gallbladders- from years of prior gluten.... cause usually if u get nauseaus like an hour after eating- it could be liver or gallbladder... ??? idk... i did a few Liver Flushes over the years- they are a real real huge pain in the a tho.. plus- i only had 1 flush that was actually worth it- like 400 stones came out... the last one i only got maybe 2 stones... and my (hemorrhoids) cant really take it anymore- so i think im done BUT i fully believe in the power of a good Liver Flush-

if u follow all the rules to a T and it's productive- then it's SO worth it

?

i also think daily exercise helps the digestive tract.

& there's a mind connection too- i think we have some of the same chemicals in our digestive tract that we have in our brain

and lastly- i agree with everyone on here about the SIBO & Yeast.

i also did a Parasite Flush a couple of times

sorry, im rambling now- just trying to help

LindaIone Newbie
LindaIone
Posted

I also struggled with yeast like symptoms for years. And I also felt like I was allergic to everything! Fruit, sugar, beans, potatoes, gluten, corn. But now I am starting to understand. All those things are carbs. I'm obviously carb sensitive and I wonder how many other people dealing with gluten have the same problem. No reason a person should be sensitive only to wheat/gluten. Since carbs affect your blood sugar just like sugar itself, it may be best to limit them. There is a very interesting book out now called, "Life without Bread". It suggests that carbs are the source of most of our illness, and that our bodies need to use more good fats for energy in place of the carbs. I have been going low carb for a couple of weeks now, and I'll tell you that I miss them - they are truly addictive. But I have noticed that my white coated tongue is going away. Kind of too soon to know if it will be permanent...Good luck.

vbecton Explorer
vbecton
Posted

This is an interesting post! I'm currently 4 months into the gluten-free diet and have eliminated nearly everything. Everything I eat makes me sick. I'm a whole food eater, no grains at all except the odd 1/2 cup of rice. Nothing processed, blah blah blah. The problem is trying to identify the source of the problem because the diets can all be conflicting. I was following the paleo diet which advised that no amount of fruit in the world could hurt you. Well, meet the apple and pear. Those send me straight to the potty! I'm trying the FODMAP diet (only the whole foods part) at the moment thinking I have some sort of fructose issue, but then I think, what's the point...I'm sick from everything. Frustrating.

I know my latest test showed SIBO. Is that the same thing as yeast? I go back to the GI on Wednesday to see how he wants to treat all this.

frieze Community Regular
frieze
Posted

This is an interesting post! I'm currently 4 months into the gluten-free diet and have eliminated nearly everything. Everything I eat makes me sick. I'm a whole food eater, no grains at all except the odd 1/2 cup of rice. Nothing processed, blah blah blah. The problem is trying to identify the source of the problem because the diets can all be conflicting. I was following the paleo diet which advised that no amount of fruit in the world could hurt you. Well, meet the apple and pear. Those send me straight to the potty! I'm trying the FODMAP diet (only the whole foods part) at the moment thinking I have some sort of fructose issue, but then I think, what's the point...I'm sick from everything. Frustrating.

I know my latest test showed SIBO. Is that the same thing as yeast? I go back to the GI on Wednesday to see how he wants to treat all this.

No, SIBO is small intestine bacterial overgrowth....or something close, lol.

bacteria an yeast are two different things.

cassP Contributor
cassP
Posted

This is an interesting post! I'm currently 4 months into the gluten-free diet and have eliminated nearly everything. Everything I eat makes me sick. I'm a whole food eater, no grains at all except the odd 1/2 cup of rice. Nothing processed, blah blah blah. The problem is trying to identify the source of the problem because the diets can all be conflicting. I was following the paleo diet which advised that no amount of fruit in the world could hurt you. Well, meet the apple and pear. Those send me straight to the potty! I'm trying the FODMAP diet (only the whole foods part) at the moment thinking I have some sort of fructose issue, but then I think, what's the point...I'm sick from everything. Frustrating.

I know my latest test showed SIBO. Is that the same thing as yeast? I go back to the GI on Wednesday to see how he wants to treat all this.

i COMPLETELY understand- & my problem with the Paleo OR any other diet out there that is prescribed as a ONE SIZE FITS ALL- is that WE'RE ALL DIFFERENT! i absolutely feel fantastic on nothing but meat & veggies... but a friend of mine did the no carb thing, and she ended up in the ER with kidney problems....

anyways- back to your point about the fruits- im right there with u- i suffered BIG TIME for a couple of months untill i realized i MUST have Fructose Malabsorption- i was eating a pear every night to help with my regularity- i kept suffering- cause my BMs were fantastic- and i thought- surely my body will adjust to the fiber and learn to digest it..... nope- never happened.. now that i learned all about FM- ive been able to see how it works- and after trial & error- know that i cant do pears, prunes, apple juice, dates, excess agave nectar or sweet potatoes or bananas.... etc etc....

its frustrating- cause the fruits really help with my bathroom experiences..... i usually do pineapple, half of a banana.... or 1/2 a mango...

FM can vary from person to person too- so u may have to do a little trial & error for yourself- & remember just because it's healthy doesnt mean u can eat it-if you're body doesnt have all the capability to digest the fructose- then it can overburden your kidney's & pancreas.

good luck :)

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