Reintroducing Vegetables

[cahill]

I have been gluten free for awhile (over 2 years) and soy free (over a year) . I am egg free other than an occasional piece of Udi's bread .

My gut has healed quite a bit and most of my other symptoms have dissipated ( unless CC'ed).

I realize that my diet may not be the healthiest as I am not eating vegetables and limit my fruits.

I would like to try to reintroduce vegetables but the last time I tried to reintroduce vegetables (about 6 months ago)was just plain painful .

Any suggestions ??

[Jestgar]

Cook them really really well?

Start by mixing a few into food you already eat (mix some peas into mashed potatoes for example).

[ravenwoodglass]

Reintroduce them one at a time and do each for a week. I would start with something easy to digest like maybe peas or carrots. Do make sure they are well cooked when first introducing them as they will be easier to digest. Hopefully by doing them one at a time you will have a few you are able to tolerate. Since you said you ended up in quite a bit of pain last time maybe do the nightshade family, potatoes and tomatoes etc last. Good luck.

[mamaw]

Hi Chill

I was going to write the same as the other posters........glad you are feeling better.

blessings

mamaw

[cahill]

@Jestgar; My tendency has been to go for raw vegetables so some well cooked vegetables may be the best place to start.

@Raven; I already know that some nightshades are off limits. chilies and green peppers are unfortunately permanently of limits , I am watchful when consuming any nightshades. As for the other vegetables ,I will try slowly reintroducing the others. I had not considered what an issue veggies were going to be.

@ Mamaw; It has been a long road but well worth the effort

Thank you for the suggestions,

[IrishHeart]

Hi Chill!

I would avoid the raw stuff for now and do as these wise women suggest.

I know you have had a long road and I am happy to hear you are doing better!!

I had to re-try some foods repeatedly (0ff and on) for the last year, but I am making progress as well.

Best wishes!

[cahill]

Hi Chill!

I would avoid the raw stuff for now and do as these wise women suggest.

I know you have had a long road and I am happy to hear you are doing better!!

I had to re-try some foods repeatedly (0ff and on) for the last year, but I am making progress as well.

Best wishes!

Thanks IH

I am glad to hear you are making progress as well. It is a long road but recovery is well worth it.

[domesticactivist]

Some people so better with certain veggies cooked and others raw. You might be interested in trying your introductions GAPS style... Cooked thoroughly in stock, and introduced slowly, one at a time. I have a series of posts on the blog linked from my profile about how to do GAPS, btw.

As you introduce them see if there are any patterns to the veggies you dont tolerate. Nightshades? Fructose? Salicylates?

[red island]

I am having the same problem. Because of my IBS I was having alot of trouble with veggies and citrus fruits. Now I find I can eat oranges (not everyday) but I am still having to mash alot of my cooked veggies, I am trying to eat lots of sweet potatoes but things like peas are still iffy. I never thought about mashing them though. Thats a good idea.

[YoloGx]

It sounds to me like you could really be having a problem with salicylates or oxyaltes. I suggest you check it/them out online. There are various lists of low to moderate to high salicylate foods for instance. It could explain a few things.

For myself personally I avoid carrots since they are quite high in salicylates. I had a reaction to them long before I even knew that however.

If you do have a problem with salicylates or some related things like that, it also indicates you likely have a problem with digesting things in general plus problems with your liver. Thus do liver and digestive support--as in things like dandelion and nettle tea and safe digestive enzymes. With salicylate sensitivity most herbs are out, however I have both read and found these two to be safe and actually find them to act as a partial antidote to the condition. As far as enzymes go, I like the Jarro-Zymes Plus with extra strength lipase and alpha galactosidase.

To get some live raw veggies in I chop them up and blend them in my blender. Parsley, celery and iceburg lettuce are a great easy to digest and liver cleansing combination that are salicylate safe.

Other than that, by all means cook or steam your foods to begin with.

Bea

[cahill]

It sounds to me like you could really be having a problem with salicylates or oxyaltes. I suggest you check it/them out online. There are various lists of low to moderate to high salicylate foods for instance. It could explain a few things.

For myself personally I avoid carrots since they are quite high in salicylates. I had a reaction to them long before I even knew that however.

If you do have a problem with salicylates or some related things like that, it also indicates you likely have a problem with digesting things in general plus problems with your liver. Thus do liver and digestive support--as in things like dandelion and nettle tea and safe digestive enzymes. With salicylate sensitivity most herbs are out, however I have both read and found these two to be safe and actually find them to act as a partial antidote to the condition. As far as enzymes go, I like the Jarro-Zymes Plus with extra strength lipase and alpha galactosidase.

To get some live raw veggies in I chop them up and blend them in my blender. Parsley, celery and iceburg lettuce are a great easy to digest and liver cleansing combination that are salicylate safe.

Other than that, by all means cook or steam your foods to begin with.

Bea

I do have liver issues. I did not relate my liver issues to my issues with veggies. Maybe salicylate sensitivity is something I need to research .

Thanks Bea

[bartfull]

When I had a terrible reaction to aspirin I thought I might have trouble with salicylates in food too. I had been having trouble with lots of fruits and veggies too. The problem is, there aren't a lot of fruits and veggies I like to begin with. Broccoli is one I do like, and I had been eating it with no problem, but I dropped it for a while.

Pears that have been peeled are supposed to be OK for sals, but I reacted badly to them. I finally found the information on how MUCH, by the numbers, sals were in foods vs. aspirin. Aspirin as it turns out, has about 100 TIMES more sals than most foods.

So I am back on high sal foods without a problem. But what's the deal with the pears and asparagus? They go through me like water. Well, it turns out they are high in nickel. I get contact dermatitis from nickel touching my skin - I'm thinking that the nickel in food does the same thing to my gut.

I'm really happy I am back on veggies and fruits. I could feel the vitamin deficiencies creeping up on me. It took a lot of experimenting and internet research, but I think I'm slowly but surely heading toward good health.

So don't give up. There IS an answer for each of us. Those answers are hard to find, and they are different for each one of us, but if we search long and hard enough, we will learn how to keep ourselves healthy and whole.

[sa1937]

I also have a problem with a nickel allergy and cannot tolerate aspirin. But I have no problem eating either unpeeled pears or asparagus, which is one of my very favorite veggies.

Maybe we are all so different that there's no telling what we might react to. It's all such a puzzle.

[IrishHeart]

Maybe we are all so different that there's no telling what we might react to. It's all such a puzzle.

That, my wise friend, sums us all up in a nutshell. It is a bugger sometimes.

Hopefully, CHILL can find a few veggies to enjoy!