Thinking Of Consulting A Nutritionist? ( I Just Did.)

[mushroom]

After 2-1/2 years of wandering around in the desert looking for oases, I finally took the step and went to a nutritionist - not just any nutritionist, but one who knows all about lectins which are the little devils that give me such problems. I am so glad I did. I thought I would share with you why I think it was worthwhile.

I have just received my program and my workbook, which is voluminous. She took a long time researching because I have stage 3 kidney disease and poor lung function (COPD) from smoking in my younger days. I also have numerous lectin intolerances which she believes are due partly to my genetic inheritance (Scots/Welsh) and perhaps partly due to still having a leaky gut.

The first thing she started me on right away was a probiotic called VSL#3 which is available online. It is quite pricey but she asserts it to be the best available. Contains 450 billion bacteria per sachet and is micronized as a sprinkle or to blend with yogurt, ice cream, whatever.

She has prescribed taurine to help improve kidney function and to help reduce risk factors for diabetes (my blood sugar has been tending high and I do have insulin resistance because I cannot lose weight). Now Foods Taurine 500mg 2/day

She wants me to take a dose of 50,000 IU Vitamin A once a week. This is in the form of retinol (derived from fish oil, but not the oil itself) because she believes I belong in the group (1 in 5) who do not convert betacarotene to Vitamin A. (I have oodles of skin problems)

I am to give up my beloved flaxseed oil and get my Omega 3's from fish oil (3,000 mg of combined EPA and DHA daily)

Vitamin D3 3,000 IU (Solgar recommended)

Complementary Prescriptions' Vitamin K 1.5mg

Nature's Way multivitamin 2/day

I have to get a Zinc Status Test to see whether I need a zinc supplement in addition to what is contained in

Now Foods Full Spectrum Mineral Tablets 1/day (or perhaps 2)

Carnosine 1,000 mg 2/day for lungs and kidneys

Now Foods Ascrobic acid vitamin C 500 mg 2/day

After 2 months test serum calcium and let her know results

Trace Mineral Research Electrolyte Stamina Tablets - trial to use when weak or have palpitations to stabilize electrolytes.

She does also recommend trying Lectin Lock to take if/when I am having a lectin reaction.

All in all, she thought my diet was pretty good, better than most of her patients. She wants me to start making my own mayonnaise, and I have already switched my yogurt making method. I used to use a one-liter jar with an EasiYo mix shaken up with water and encased for 8 hrs in a thermos of boiling water. I am now making this preparation in the same jar, but wrapped in a heating pad set on low for 24 hours, similar to SCD yogurt I guess. I will make it from milk when I get back to New Zealand where I know it comes from grass-fed cows. (I don't want to become dairy intolerant too!)

She stresses the importance (which I already knew) of eating grass fed beef, lamb, eggs, not just because of the lectin problem but because they also contain omega 3's.

She wants me to greatly reduce or eliminate the use of omega 6 vegetable oils (including my grapeseed) and try to get the ration of 6's to 3's down to 4:1 by using more coconut oil, and palm oil (hard to get in New Zealand) along with olive oil. Butter, lard and cream are okay.

The actual dietary program is pretty unchanged from what I have been eating. She does not believe in low-fat eating - foods should be full-fat if that is the way they come naturallly.

There is lots more that I have not read yet, obviously. But I am excited to get under way.

[GlutenFreeManna]

All in all, she thought my diet was pretty good, better than most of her patients. She wants me to start making my own mayonnaise, and I have already switched my yogurt making method. I used to use a one-liter jar with an EasiYo mix shaken up with water and encased for 8 hrs in a thermos of boiling water. I am now making this preparation in the same jar, but wrapped in a heating pad set on low for 24 hours, similar to SCD yogurt I guess. I will make it from milk when I get back to New Zealand where I know it comes from grass-fed cows. (I don't want to become dairy intolerant too!)

This is very interesting to me. Do you know why she asked you to change the method you use to make yogurt? I make my yogurt using a crockpot. What are the benefits to the method she recommends? Is it the longer time that is better or the heating method?

[mushroom]

This is very interesting to me. Do you know why she asked you to change the method you use to make yogurt? I make my yogurt using a crockpot. What are the benefits to the method she recommends? Is it the longer time that is better or the heating method?

No, I haven't had a follow-up call or email to her yet. I am just getting started. I know that the 24-hour method is recommended in the Specific Carbohydrate Diet - it makes a much thicker and much sourer yogurt - I am guessing that it gives all the bacteria a longer time to multiply. The heating method was improvised I noticed the batch I started eating this morning was much sourer because I had left it for 30 hours and I don't put sugar in mine. But when mixed up in a smoothie I enjoyed the tartness of the yogurt over the sweetness of the fruit. Of course, I enjoy strongly flavored foods anyway You could probably just leave your crockpot on for 24 hours

[GlutenFreeManna]

No, I haven't had a follow-up call or email to her yet. I am just getting started. I know that the 24-hour method is recommended in the Specific Carbohydrate Diet - it makes a much thicker and much sourer yogurt - I am guessing that it gives all the bacteria a longer time to multiply. The heating method was improvised I noticed the batch I started eating this morning was much sourer because I had left it for 30 hours and I don't put sugar in mine. But when mixed up in a smoothie I enjoyed the tartness of the yogurt over the sweetness of the fruit. Of course, I enjoy strongly flavored foods anyway You could probably just leave your crockpot on for 24 hours

Oh, no the method I use doesn't leave the crockpot on that long. That would kill all the good bacteria. The crockpot method takes about 15 hours total. The crockpot is on for 3 hours, then off to cool for 2.5 hours then the starter is added and it is wrapped in a blanket or towel and left for 8-12 hours (overnight). Here's where I first read about this: Open Original Shared Link

I have left it for as long as 18 hours once when I overslept and that batch was extra thick and more sour, so I wonder if the longer time and less heat is better for encouraging good bacteria?

[mushroom]

Oh, no the method I use doesn't leave the crockpot on that long. That would kill all the good bacteria. The crockpot method takes about 15 hours total. The crockpot is on for 3 hours, then off to cool for 2.5 hours then the starter is added and it is wrapped in a blanket or towel and left for 8-12 hours (overnight). Here's where I first read about this: Open Original Shared Link

I have left it for as long as 18 hours once when I overslept and that batch was extra thick and more sour, so I wonder if the longer time and less heat is better for encouraging good bacteria?

Yes, I think that's the ticket. Perhaps you could wrap your crockpot in a heating pad? to hold the temp in. That's the only difference between what I'm doing now and what I used to do - keeping it at a constant temp. and for a longer time.

[jerseyangel]

Shroomie--thank you so much for taking the time to relay your experience with this nutritionist. I have issues with lectins too, and find this all fascinating.

I'll be looking forward to hearing all about your progress

[mushroom]

Shroomie--thank you so much for taking the time to relay your experience with this nutritionist. I have issues with lectins too, and find this all fascinating.

I'll be looking forward to hearing all about your progress

This is all, of course, totally at odds with what the cardiologists want me to do -- take aspirin to reduce my risk (6-8% according to their estimates) of stroke because of the A-Fib, but because that is caused by low potassium - which I can now control since they have changed my meds (potassium was leaching out from the lasix, and from the Diovan by too frequent stool, which they have discontinued) and by the lectins which I can control with better label reading , I don't think my risk is that high; and they also want me to take Coumadin in case I stay in A-Fib for more than 48 hours in which case blood clotting becomes a problem, whereas she wants me to take Vitamin K which I have to limit on Coumadin .

So she is trying to preserve what I've got and they are potentially planning on making it worse in case of something that probably won't happen. You know which way I am going. I keep thinking of my Dad whom they took off butter and cream and put on trans-fats to preserve his heart function And we know all about that now.

There is lots more in there, Patti, a whole binder full that I'm only just beginning to discover. She is most concerned that I concentrate first on my potassium and Vitamin A (after the probiotic which I have already been taking for a week). She does not want me to challenge any lectin for 6-12 months.

[kayo]

How did you narrow your issues down to lectins specifically? I'm at a point where I don't know what is and isn't bothering me due to some weird histamine issue. My body thinks it's intolerant to all foods. On a med that seems to be helping but not fully better yet.

[mushroom]

How did you narrow your issues down to lectins specifically? I'm at a point where I don't know what is and isn't bothering me due to some weird histamine issue. My body thinks it's intolerant to all foods. On a med that seems to be helping but not fully better yet.

I had done quite a bit of reading about lectins here and on other forums, wondering if they could be what was bothering me.

Well, I have such a violent and weird reaction (atrial fibrillation accompanied by extreme bloating, difficulty breathing, feeling like my heart is going to jump out of my chest) that all I really had to do (looking back on it, although it wasn't that simple at the time) was to evaluate what I had eaten for dinner (it always seems to be dinner that gets me - maybe I am more adventurous then ). I figured out the legumes, for example, when I had had problems with various of the legume family (soy is a legume, so are peanuts) and one night I had a terrible reaction after a dinner of lamb chop, half a baked yam with butter, and green peas. I said, now come on, what's wrong with that?? and then thought about the peas being legumes. Had to try them again to be sure, but sure enough. Then I read that snow peas and string beans should be okay, but a stir-fry with string beans did me in big time. So legumes went totally out the window.

I like strong flavors and had been using citrus a lot - too much, in fact, and sensitized myself to it. It was just a matter of putting two and two together. For example, DH cooked dinner last night and came home with salmon which the fishmonger had asethetically packaged with a slice of lemon and a little piece of kale. I believe I got the piece of fish the lemon had been sitting on because I as in A-fib all night until 8:30 a.m. this morning.

You can read a bit about lectins on www.krispin.com/lectins

Time to go to bed and catch up on my sleep

[Black Sheep]

Hmmm....lectins....if I remember correctly, that's the basis for the Eat Right 4 Your Type book/diet, by Dr. D'Adamo. I've read the book and found what he had to say about lectins really interesting, and have toyed with the idea of trying his way of eating based on blood type. But I've never known anyone who has done this, so it would be nice to hear from people who have, and get some opinions.

[mushroom]

I do not follow the blood type diet, Blacksheep. I have read Dr. D'Adamo's book, or most of it, and his recommendations for my Type A would ruin my digestion My diet is based on a lot of trial - and a lot of error Like trying to eat the 'healthy' gluten free grains and finding that I cannot tolerate quinoa (and it is high in lectins). I have had a little bit of millet but am not going to push that one either because of its lectins. I made myself intolerant of citrus (currently) because I consumed too much of this high-lectin fruit seeking taste sensations. I do fine with sorghum and buckwheat and.combined with rice flour, those are my gluten substitute grains for the most part. I am hoping that I can regain the ability to eat legumes. So I feel that there is a lot of hogwash surrounding the blood type diet, although one thing does seem to hold true for Type A's: mosquitoes love us. We are a tremendous 'draw' at barbecues - people as well as the skeeters love us

By the way, I took the Zinc Status test - and failed; couldn't taste anything. So I am on zinc supplement now also. I am gradually building into my program because I have been on antibiotics for oral surgery and that has ruined my gut for a while; also I moved back from stateside to New Zealand and didn't want to get under way until I was stable.

But I like what the VLS#3 is doing although it did not make me immune to the kill-off from the Amoxycillinl

[celiac-wife]

Neroli,

How often do you take the VSL#3? Is there a difference between the powder form and the capsule form other than the amount of live bacteria?

Thanks,

Cindy

After 2-1/2 years of wandering around in the desert looking for oases, I finally took the step and went to a nutritionist - not just any nutritionist, but one who knows all about lectins which are the little devils that give me such problems. I am so glad I did. I thought I would share with you why I think it was worthwhile.

I have just received my program and my workbook, which is voluminous. She took a long time researching because I have stage 3 kidney disease and poor lung function (COPD) from smoking in my younger days. I also have numerous lectin intolerances which she believes are due partly to my genetic inheritance (Scots/Welsh) and perhaps partly due to still having a leaky gut.

The first thing she started me on right away was a probiotic called VSL#3 which is available online. It is quite pricey but she asserts it to be the best available. Contains 450 billion bacteria per sachet and is micronized as a sprinkle or to blend with yogurt, ice cream, whatever.

She has prescribed taurine to help improve kidney function and to help reduce risk factors for diabetes (my blood sugar has been tending high and I do have insulin resistance because I cannot lose weight). Now Foods Taurine 500mg 2/day

She wants me to take a dose of 50,000 IU Vitamin A once a week. This is in the form of retinol (derived from fish oil, but not the oil itself) because she believes I belong in the group (1 in 5) who do not convert betacarotene to Vitamin A. (I have oodles of skin problems)

I am to give up my beloved flaxseed oil and get my Omega 3's from fish oil (3,000 mg of combined EPA and DHA daily)

Vitamin D3 3,000 IU (Solgar recommended)

Complementary Prescriptions' Vitamin K 1.5mg

Nature's Way multivitamin 2/day

I have to get a Zinc Status Test to see whether I need a zinc supplement in addition to what is contained in

Now Foods Full Spectrum Mineral Tablets 1/day (or perhaps 2)

Carnosine 1,000 mg 2/day for lungs and kidneys

Now Foods Ascrobic acid vitamin C 500 mg 2/day

After 2 months test serum calcium and let her know results

Trace Mineral Research Electrolyte Stamina Tablets - trial to use when weak or have palpitations to stabilize electrolytes.

She does also recommend trying Lectin Lock to take if/when I am having a lectin reaction.

All in all, she thought my diet was pretty good, better than most of her patients. She wants me to start making my own mayonnaise, and I have already switched my yogurt making method. I used to use a one-liter jar with an EasiYo mix shaken up with water and encased for 8 hrs in a thermos of boiling water. I am now making this preparation in the same jar, but wrapped in a heating pad set on low for 24 hours, similar to SCD yogurt I guess. I will make it from milk when I get back to New Zealand where I know it comes from grass-fed cows. (I don't want to become dairy intolerant too!)

She stresses the importance (which I already knew) of eating grass fed beef, lamb, eggs, not just because of the lectin problem but because they also contain omega 3's.

She wants me to greatly reduce or eliminate the use of omega 6 vegetable oils (including my grapeseed) and try to get the ration of 6's to 3's down to 4:1 by using more coconut oil, and palm oil (hard to get in New Zealand) along with olive oil. Butter, lard and cream are okay.

The actual dietary program is pretty unchanged from what I have been eating. She does not believe in low-fat eating - foods should be full-fat if that is the way they come naturallly.

There is lots more that I have not read yet, obviously. But I am excited to get under way.

[mushroom]

Neroli,

How often do you take the VSL#3? Is there a difference between the powder form and the capsule form other than the amount of live bacteria?

Thanks,

Cindy

Krispin said to take the powder form and sprinkle it on something, like yogurt or ice cream, so that it would be held in the mouth for a while and the digestive process would start with the saliva. She thought there was better absorption this way

[Black Sheep]

By the way, I took the Zinc Status test - and failed; couldn't taste anything. So I am on zinc supplement now also. I am gradually building into my program because I have been on antibiotics for oral surgery and that has ruined my gut for a while; also I moved back from stateside to New Zealand and didn't want to get under way until I was stable.

Um, next question : What is the zinc status test, and how do you do it?

[mushroom]

Um, next question : What is the zinc status test, and how do you do it?

It is a product called "Zinc Status" and the test is to put two teaspoonsful of the liquid in your mouth and hold it there for 10 seconds (all explained on bottle). If at the end of that time you do not taste the zinc, you are deficient. It tasted like water to me, and I have been told that if your zinc supplies are good you will get a pretty strong taste

[Black Sheep]

Oh, thanks! I'll see if I can find it.