Gluten-Free, Legume-Free, Dairy-Free, Grain-Free, Nightshade-Free Vegan

[Evangeline]

Gluten-free, Legume-Free, Dairy-Free, Grain-Free, Nightshade-Free Vegan

So, is there any hope that in the future I will be able to at least eat rice again? Yesterday, I discovered it is rice that gives me diarrhea. I also have hypothyroidism and am wondering does it contribute to the excess food sensitivities that I am experiencing?

[mushroom]

I believe it is most likely a leaky gut which is letting all things through into your blood stream in a partially digested form. A leaky gut lets larger molecules through than a regular gut with tight junctions. It is gluten which originally causes the leaky gut and it can be hard to heal. Your immune system sees those larger molecules as foreign invaders and attacks them, setting off the reaction. Are you taking probiotics and digestive enzymes? These are the first line of defense in healing a leaky gut. Others take L-Glutamine also. You should also make sure all your nutrient levels are up to snuff to promote good healing.

The other thing I note is that all the foods you do not tolerate are high in lectins (yes, there are lectins in gluten too, they are a glycoprotein, a fraction of the gluten protein). I am intolerant of most lectins although I do tolerate rice and dairy - however, not citrus or corn or soy. The only way to be able to once again tolerate these foods is, IMHO, to heal your leaky gut, and to avoid all those foods until it is fully healed. I do not believe that your hypothyroidism has any effect on it. Your immune system is just hyperreactive at this stage, and, as I found out to my detriment, will potentially react to anything that we eat too much of. So try not to eat the same things every day. I know it is difficult when we have such a restricted list to begin with

[Marilyn R]

Great response, Mushroom. I always appreciate your posts.

Evangaline, can you think about eating meat? Even though I've never cared for meat, we really need protein.

You can have root vegetables, bananas, brazil nut, maybe buckwheat, cashew, citrus, artichoke, persimmon, flaxseed, beets, chard, spinich, maybe quinoa, all melons, bamboo shoots, asparagus, sweet potatoes (different food family from the rest of the root vegetables), olives, coconut, most fruit and nuts (and nut flours). That list is pretty limiting, and it's from my go to guide on food families.

If you won't consider consuming meat, (hard row to hoe, I know), can you do seafood? Not unlike Mushroom, I found that sticking to certain foods I liked (due to taste or ease of preparation) made me develop new intolerances. I can tolerate some of those foods now, but I have to mix them up so that I don't repeat protein sources for a few days and give my autoimmune system something new to attack.

Like I made a vegetarian curried pea soup on Saturday. I froze the leftovers. I had it for lunch today but won't repeat legumes for two or three more days.

Try to eat things you've never eaten before.

I can eat things that turned up "high" on allergy skin prick testing if I eat them in moderation and rotate them.

[Evangeline]

Thank you for the replies!

So I need to do a 3-4 day rotational diet. I have been reading about leaky gut syndrome and I DEFINITELY know I have it. I also have little or no stomach acid (I can take up to 18 HCL (Hydrochloric Acid)Pills which help me digest protein). I get really bad inflammation all over my face (acne-like) any time I touch ANY traditional source of protein. The least that affects me is nuts, seeds and eggs. So I eat plenty of those (I suppose I am an ovo-vegetarian, not a vegan at this point in my life). My doctor also checked my protein levels and amino acid levels via blood test several times and said that while I was on this diet, I had the best results in the hospital.

As for taking probiotics-- I can't find ANY probiotic that is gluten, corn, soy and dairy free!

Also -- for those of you who have been around this forum longer than I have, what is the average length of time it takes to finally heal the leaky gut or food sensitivities? Can it be permanent? Or is the average two years? Or 6 months? Or 5 years?

[chasbari]

Closest I have come on the probiotics is Nutrition Now PB8 with the green cap which contains "no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Contains no wheat (gluten), eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy or salt. Dairy Free." It can be found at a number of stores as well as on line and is not too expensive.

I agree about the whole lectin issue. I have to be careful about them as they still cause issues.

I hope you find some things that work for you food wise.

CS

[11475]

As for taking probiotics-- I can't find ANY probiotic that is gluten, corn, soy and dairy free!

If you still haven't found anything, there is an Australian company called, 'Ethical Nutrients'. They make a probiotic that states on the label that it is free of gluten, corn, dairy (if you get the dairy free version) and a whole bunch of other things. It doesn't specifically mention soy, but I got the pharmacist to call the company and was told that they said there was no soy in the product. It's called, 'Inner Health Plus Dairy Free' and I did a quick search and the company website says they are able to ship to the US, assuming that's where you are.

[Evangeline]

If you still haven't found anything, there is an Australian company called, 'Ethical Nutrients'. They make a probiotic that states on the label that it is free of gluten, corn, dairy (if you get the dairy free version) and a whole bunch of other things. It doesn't specifically mention soy, but I got the pharmacist to call the company and was told that they said there was no soy in the product. It's called, 'Inner Health Plus Dairy Free' and I did a quick search and the company website says they are able to ship to the US, assuming that's where you are.

Thank you very much for doing so! Thank you, thank you!

[ZarinBaby]

Celiac disease and/or gluten intolerance has everything to do with your thyroid. I've struggled with my weight my entire life. However, the real problem with weight developed once my celiac disease flared and really showed itself. My TSH levels were at 3.5 when I was first tested, and struggling to lose weight. My struggle included a fantastic diet, before I knew about gluten, 4-5 days/wk at least at the gym, swimming at the pool, running (which let me tell you I am not a runner, I also have asthma and a fast heart rate), taking care of my kid, husband, house, and any other physical activity that I could manage. I only lost 5 lbs from the month of May through November. That's when I had my thyroid tested, and it was at 3.5.

I gave up most gluten, maybe about 75%-85%, and then had my thyroid tested again 6 mos later. My TSH dropped to 3.2. Now, all of this time, I had a raging round rash of tiny red blistery looking things on my hand...itched out of control. I googled it, and finally came to realize that not only is gluten my problem, but I actually have celiac disease, and dermatitis herpetiformus is a rash associated with it. So, I gave up gluten 100%, and the rash disappeared in 3 days, after raging non stop for more than 8 months. Two months after quitting gluten 100%, I retested my thyroid, and it came back at 2.8. Significant change in my TSH, in a much shorter amount of time than before.

I also had severe bouts with vertigo, imbalance, faintness upon standing, severe hot flashes, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, chronic sinus infections and congestion, never ending allergies, asthma, short term memory loss, forgetfulness, and one of the worst...severe, severe fatigue. I can't remember what else right now, there are just so many that I can't even keep track anymore.

I did start to lose weight after I realized that I had a disease, and gave up gluten. It's not incredibly fast or anything, but I went from only losing 5 lls in 6 mos to losing a total of 23 within only 4 mos of quitting gluten.

It's been about 6 months since I gave up gluten for good. And I'm still discovering what I can and cannot eat, and eliminating all items that have hidden gluten. My symptoms are worsening with time. I've become highly sensitive to all of the no no foods. I now know, after 1 1/2 years of pure hell, that I can't eat gluten, dairy, legumes, corn, and I choose to not eat soy, except small amounts of tamari sauce(gluten free soy sauce) and some packaged foods that have soy flour, but it's rare that I do that.

I just had my thyroid retested last week, and I expect to hear something within the next few days. I don't think there will be much improvement because I keep eating cross contaminated foods in restaurants, and also just learning what I can and cannot eat, like legumes. I recently figured this out. I didn't even realize it, and baked some chocolate chip cookies the other day...not thinking that the flour mix contained garbanzo flour. I was having symptoms for several days when I realized that it must be a the beans. Btw, I used dairy free, soy free chocolate chips. Plus, I do have milk in my chai about once a week or so, sometimes creamer in my coffee. I'm trying really hard to break this habit. In the end, it only inflames my gut, keeps the fat on, and agitates my asthma. I gained 5+lbs in the last month because I wasn't on my guard as much as before, and I couldn't be as active as usual. Still working hard, and watching my diet better than your average person...but, this is life with celiac. And, again, my symptoms are worsening and sensitivities are arising with other foods. So, I'm not sure what my thyroid results will be.

But, I can happily say that my vertigo has completely disappeared (and my sisters have this problem too, just won't listen to me), my asthma has drastically improved (it's Exercise Induced Asthma), my balance is incredible as compared to before (doing yoga, tap dance and boot camp as therapy to rebalance my left side), the brain fog has lifted, my memory is sharp, and I'm learning new things and retaining information once again, no more hot flashes (unless I've been contaminated), faintness almost entirely gone, sinuses better but not perfect, and fatigue went away when I did a full enema and flushed out my gut. Fatigue was gone the next day. I do struggle some days, but I also unknowingly consume certain no no foods.

I know all of that stemmed from a question about thyroid, but gluten will throw your entire body out of whack...digestive, respiratory, endocrine...you name it, there is an effect. It's a hideous disease.

[Korwyn]

As far a the probiotic we take PB8. My wife can't have corn, and neither of us can have pasteurized or processed dairy, and I don't have gluten or soy. So PB8 is the only live probiotic I've found that works for both of us.