Neuropathy and allergens

  This blog is about how I found a way to control my Crohns disease through diet alone, and get completely off of medications. I did this by eliminating wheat, gluten and corn from my diet. These are my trigger foods. I avoid these allergens and all their derivatives, and I'm fine. In earlier entries I outline my diet and include recipes that I enjoy.

  It also  came to my attention that allergens could cause other "auto-immune" diseases such as eczema and relapsing polychondritis.  My daughter had severe eczema when she was around a year old. The doctor suggested changing our laundry detergent... to no avail. After much experimenting with her diet, I discovered that she had a citric acid allergy. I took her completely off of citric acid. The eczema had completely cleared up. I was diagnosed with Relapsing Polychondritis, which causes inflammation of the cartilage. This was in addition to Crohn's disease. I am also free of this, through my elimination diet. Read further in this blog to see how I was able to clear my daughter's eczema with the elimination of citric acid in her diet.

   This brings me to my new entry; Neuropathy. Neuropathy is the inflammation of the nerves. It can cause many symptoms, including tingling, numbness and pain. My daughter had gotten eczema from citric acid, a common addition to many baby foods. I eliminated this from her diet and her skin cleared in 3 days. Completely. As she got older, (she's now 16) she was once again able to eat foods with citric acid with no problem. She outgrew the allergy. Or so we thought.

   This takes us to Christmas of last year, 2011. My mother-in-law had made some delicious wassail juice, and we were drinking it like crazy. It's a combination of apple juice, lemon juice, pineapple juice and a few other things. Really good. And my daughter Loved it!

    A few days later she started complaining about tingling and numbness on the left side of her head. I didn't think much about it at the time. I was asking her what she was using lately on her skin. She had started wearing a new necklace and I wondered if that might be related. It was an antique and I wasn't sure of the metals in it. The symptoms weren't too bad so I put it to the back of my mind.

   A week or so later, she woke me up in the middle of the night. Now her tongue and throat were tingling and parts of her tongue were numb! She was also experiencing tingling in other parts of her body including her hands. She also experienced some pain in different areas of her head that felt "hot". That was enough to scare me, so I took her to the ER. The doctor on call did some neurological testing and said that everything appeared to be normal. They told me to make an appointment with her pediatrician. The following week, we went to the pediatrician. She again did the normal neurological tests and could find nothing. Now came the appointment with the pediatric neurology doctor at Children's Hospital.

   This doctor wanted to be thorough. He  started with literally about 25 different blood tests. He tested for everything under  the sun, vitamin deficiencies, auto-immune diseases, lyme disease... One blood test came back slightly elevated; pyruvic acid. (As a side note. Pyruvic acid has something to do with the citric acid cycle in the body. )They weren't concerned about it. Then they ordered an MRI.  Everything there (TG) was normal too. They were at a loss.

   Then we had the idea to completely eliminate citric acid from her diet and see if there was an effect. She was allergic as a baby and maybe she still was.  There was an effect from eliminating the citric acid. The neuropathy started to fade and was completely gone in a few weeks. As a side note, she also had inflammatory acne that cleared up from the elimination. And she also had had joint pain that went away. Two times she also broke out in hives after drinking the wassail juice, and once again after having orange juice and spaghetti in the same day.

    Once again, food allergies causing inflammatory reactions within the body. Could this work for other people with neuropathy? Could different allergens affect different people in different ways? It is worth looking into. I can't say that it is always citric acid that causes neuropathy. I can say that it caused it for my daughter. It would be well worth looking  into eliminating common allergens from the diet. One week at a time eliminating one allergen at a time and see if it helps. Common allergens are fish, eggs, wheat, gluten, corn, peanuts, and tree nuts.

   Please let me know if you or someone you know has suffered from neuropathy and if you have tried to eliminate common allergens from your diet, and what the results were.

Beating Crohn's Naturally

     I am now convinced that Crohns, Relapsing Polychodritis and many other "auto-immune" diseases are triggered by food allergies/intolerances. My trigger foods are wheat, gluten and corn. I have eliminated all of these from my diet. I have also eliminated all derivatives of these foods. This was the key. And this is all I do. I am off of all medications, especially those horrid steroids.

     My mom also has Crohn's/Colitis. She has found that her trigger foods are all dairy related. She can eat a bit of dairy foods and be fine. But if she eats too many dairy foods in a day, she gets her symptoms back.

     I have set up this blog with ways to cut out allergens in your diet. I was focused on wheat gluten and corn... Now I think I will focus on cutting all allergens including milk. Many of my recipes do contain milk. So from now on I will try to leave out this allergen also.

     My hope is that this blog will be able to help someone. I sell nothing. The products that I talk about are products that I actually use with success. I don't get paid to endorse these products.

     One of the hardest things in life to change is your diet. It brings great comfort and we feel very secure with it. Most people would rather take a ton a medicine than change their diet. Of course diet can be changed a little at a time through baby steps. But the way this has worked for me was to completely change every aspect of my diet. It is very hard, but it works for me.

     As noted previously, I am not a doctor. I am a person who has Crohn's disease and Relapsing Polychodritis. I control both through my elimination diet. I take no medicine. I have no symptoms of either. I can not say what is best for you. I am putting it out there what I do. If anyone is willing to eliminate allergens from their diet I would love to hear about it.

     Remember, Celiac was once an incurable disease. Now we know it is only a gluten allergy. Avoid the gluten and they're fine. I believe that Crohn's is a sister disease, caused by a similar allergen. It may be gluten, corn, milk, soy, fish, eggs, peanut, citric acid or any other allergen. It may be a combination of allergens. For me it was wheat, gluten and corn. For my Mom it is milk. For my daughter it was citric acid.

How to Start:
Start by elimating all major allergens, as noted above. It seems like it wouldn't leave much to eat. I started by eating plain chicken, rice and vegetables. Other good foods to start with: fruit, salad with no dressing, potatoes, gluten free noodles, hamburger (no bun), juices (watch the citric acid), steamed vegetables... No sauces or dressings.

Next, keep a logue of everything that is eaten or drunk. Everything counts, even gum and pop.

Reintroduce known allergens one at a time. Wait one week if possible. Note the reactions. you must be very patient.

I feel that I was blessed with this knowledge and need to share it. I sincerely hope that you will find help through this.

Any questions please feel free to email:
lynne1408@earthlink.net

Against the Grain

     These "Against the Grain" rolls are made with mozzerella cheese which make them really chewy and hold together well. They don't come pre-split. They are found in the freezer section. I take mine out when I want one and put it in the microwave , wrapped in a paper towel for 35 seconds. Really nice for hamburgers when I'm tired of either eating them plain or wrapped in lettuce. As an added note, I just tried these for making french toast. Yummmmmmm!

gluten free cheesecake

     Here is another product I found at my local health food store. I did make a few adjustments for the cheese cake part itself. I do not use ricotta cheese because it contains white vinegar, which is a derivative of corn. I used Daisy brand cottage cheese instead. And instead of the sour cream which is called for, I used plain yogurt. When using the cream cheese, I always start with the solid. The whipped and creamed ones contain other additives which do not agree with me. I also add chocolate chips. The crust from this brand is very good and easy to use.

Disease Clustering

     As a curious note, I would like to know how many people with Crohn's have other "auto immune" diseases. I was also diagnosed with Relapsing Polychondritis; causing swelling of the cartilage in the body. When I discovered a way to control my Crohn's I also found a way to control my Relapsing Polychondritis. I believe that when you have one disease, it's very likely to have other inflammatory diseases. As a matter of fact, I also believe that Eczema is another food allergy triggered disease. I went through this with both of my daughters when they were young. The doctor suggested all sorts of things, such as changing my laundry detergent... In the end it turned out to be an allergy to citric acid.

     The way I discovered this: The doctor recommended giving my daughter Benadryl at night to help her sleep. Well it was the worst night of itching she had ever had. I read the ingredients. The first ingredient beside the medicine was citric acid. That day I cut out all citric acid from her diet, and mine ( I was breast feeding). Within 3 days she was totally cleared up from her eczema. I believe that all these inflammatory diseases are caused by allergies to foods.

     Question: Do you have any clustering of diseases? Have you tried this diet? And have you had any success? I can't be the only person in the world that this works for. Here is my email address. Please let me know how you are doing.

lynne1408@earthlink.net

     Eating gluten free and corn free doesn't have to be boring. It takes some prior planning. But there are some delicious foods that are both gluten and corn free. I can live with Crohn's; I just want to be able to eat well. Check out my new recipes below.

Ful Mudamas

     This was my first attempt at an ethnic food. This is a Syrian breakfast made with chic peas, tahini, yogurt, lemon juice and tomato and fresh garlic. It then has parsley, paprika and olive oil drizzled on top of it. Really good. It tastes like a combination of humous and tabouli. Make sure to check the label for the tahini, that it is made of sesame seeds only. This is for 2 servings:

*1 can cooked chic peas
*1 cup yogurt
*1 medium tomato
*juice of 1 lemon
*1 clove garlic, fresh, raw, minced (omit if you
plan to see people within 24 hours)
*4 tablespoons tahini
*half cup chopped parsley
*paprika to taste
*olive oil to drizzle on top

1-drain beans and rinse
2-pour beans into water and boil while making rest of recipe
3-chop tomato in bite size pieces
4-mince garlic
5-chop parsley
6-in 2 serving bowls, split the yogurt, tahini, garlic and tomato
7-drain beans and add to bowls
8-top with fresh parsley and paprika
9-drizzle olive oil on top

This was sooooo delicious and easy to make. Check out this link for more Syrian recipes:
www.syrianfoodie.blogspot.com

The traditional recipe uses fava beans instead of chic peas. But some people have severe allergies to fava beans. So best to not take a chance. It is the sauce that really makes this recipe, not the beans.

I tried this recipe again today and heated it slightly in the microwave before topping it with the parsley. It made a huge difference in taste-really good.

Amy's rice crust pizza

     This is what I eat when I'm craving pizza. I like to add lots of veggies on top. It's also a bit scant on the cheese; so I always add extra. I can find it at my local grocery store in the health section.

Crawfish Stew

Here is my recipe for crawfish stew. Super easy and fast.

*1 package frozen crawfish (with juice)
*1 package frozen shrimp
*1 head broccoli
*1 medium tomato
*Bragg's spray amino acids
*paprika to taste
*garlic powder to taste
*chili powder to taste
*olive oil

1-immerse frozen fish in warm water to thaw
2-saute broccoli in olive oil to just tender/crisp
3-add chopped tomato and simmer for a few
minutes
4-add both packages of thawed fish (ok if not
completely thawed; it heats quickly)
5-add Bragg's and spices to taste
6-simmer a few more minutes to blend flavors

     This is best served over plain rice. The seasonings can be adjusted according to tastes. I make mine fairly mild for my daughters. This can also be a very spicy dish. There are lots of variations to this recipe. Other vegetables such as peppers and carrots can also be added. You can also experiment with different spices, such as basil, oregano, fresh garlic and hot pepper.

Baked Kale chips

     Here is an extremely easy recipe that has been circulating on the internet lately. It's a great way to eat kale. I made this recipe and ate more kale in one sitting than I have in the previous year. It comes out crunchy, like potato chips.

*bunch kale
*olive oil
*Bragg's spray amino acids (tastes like soy sauce)

1- tear kale into bite size pieces, discarding stems
2-place on parchment lined cookie sheet, spread out evenly
3-drizzle with olive oil
4-spray with Bragg's
5-(optional) sprinkle other seasonings, garlic...
6-bake 300 degrees for 15-20 minutes
Watch carefully for browning.

These are so delicious, my 15 year old daughter loved them. I'm making these for the Superbowl.

Red Lobster

     When following a wheat and corn free diet, it is very difficult to eat out in restaurants and not fear being sick a few hours later. I am excited to start this new feature on eating out.

     My first entry is about Red Lobster. I ordered the salmon. I asked for them to grill it and add no seasonings at all. I always mention that I have food allergies in restaurants, hoping that this will scare them a bit into following my requests. They did add salt and pepper anyhow. I had a side of steamed broccoli and a baked potato with butter. Sour cream is iffy, unless you can read the actual container. I also had a side salad without dressing. It came with croutons, but I just took them off. There were many other good choices on the menu as well; steak, grilled tilapia... and other grilled fish. The lemon was also a nice addition to the salmon.

Personal note

     Yesterday, my Mom just got out of the hospital. She's ok now, but it was a 2 week ordeal. What sent her there in the first place were pains in her stomach and diarrhea. She of course feared the worse. The CT scan showed a good bit of colitis. I asked my Mom what she had been eating lately. She said that she had been having a lot of corn on the cob; delicious and in season. Can't blame her. This may have started it. They also found a kidney stone which may have caused some of the pain. Then they told her that she had a bladder infection and started her on antibiotics. She also had a colonoscopy and endoscopy. After she had been in there a few days with the diarrhea, they started giving her glucerna to get her calorie intake up. This made the symptoms even worse. The hospital then began testing her for c diff, a very nasty bacteria that you can catch in the hospital while on antibiotics. It causes extreme dirarhea and is very hard to stop. First they said she had it, then they said she didn't, then did... Back and forth for a week. Finally they concluded that she never did have it; it was colitis all along.

     Now I'm sure that there may be a genetic link here. My Mom is going to work with her diet and see which foods she has a sensitivity to. This thing does seem to run in families. I'm not sure if I can get my Mom to change her diet too much, but we'll see. She's 74 years old, it's going to be difficult. She's going to start by eliminating corn products and see if that helps. Thank goodness she is home now and recovering from her ordeal.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to write:
lynne1408@earthlink.net

Corn free, gluten free bread

     This is a recipe for corn free and gluten free bread. Bread is the one thing that you may miss the most on this diet. There are some gluten free breads in the health food stores, but they don't compare to this one. Even my daughters like this one, and they don't need to eat corn or gluten free. This bread tastes almost like corn bread and is slightly sweet with a course texture.

*3 whole eggs plus 1 egg white
*1 tbs apple cider vinegar (white vinegar is a corn derivative)
*3/4 cup milk or milk substitute
*2 tbs oil (canola)
*2 tbs sugar
*3/4 tsp salt
*1/2 tsp baking powder (featherweight; other baking powders contain cornstarch)
*1 tbs ground flax
*1 and 1/2 cup rice flour
*1/4 cup oat flour
*1/4 cup almond flour
*1 and 1/2 tbs baker yeast
*2 tbs gluten free oats

     DIRECTIONS:

      *in large bowl mix wet ingredients
      *in separate bowl mix dry ingredients and yeast
      *slowly incorporate the dry into the wet ingredients
      *grease 1 bread pan with canola oil
      *pour batter into pan (Note: it will not be doughy)
      *sprinkle top with gluten free oats

This makes one loaf.

No need to have it rise. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.

     This won't be a super high bread, but it is really really good and really full of fiber. I ate mine with peanut butter. It was quite satisfying. You can also try other flours in this and see how it comes out. I sometimes use soy flour, but limit it to no more than a 1/4th cup.

   

Mushroom broccoli soup

     This soup is great for using broccoli in your garden. Most commercial soups contain starches to thicken them up. Most starches are corn, wheat or derivatives. Make sure to use the Imagine brand mushroom soup for this base. The color of this soup is a little weird, but the taste is really good. Don't be put off by the looks.

*1 quart Imagine brand mushroom soup
*3 potatoes, peeled and sliced
*1 pint fresh mushrooms
*1 head fresh broccoli
*2 cups milk



---Cut broccoli and steam in microwave
---boil potatoes till soft
---in large pot, empty soup base and cook on low heat
---add steamed broccoli, cooked potatoes and fresh mushrooms
---continue to cook on low for about 20 minutes, stirring once in a while
---put soup and fresh milk in blender, a cup at a time, then add back to pot
---continue to process the soup with the milk until almost all of it is smooth. I like to leave some chunks in the soup and have some whole mushrooms floating on top.

Pepsi Throwback

     I was very happy yesterday when I found Pepsi throwback in the store. It had been out last year for a limited time. It is made with sugar, instead of corn syrup. This is a real treat for me. If you can only make one change in your diet, this may be a good place to start, especially if you drink a lot of soda pop. Enjoy! (: