Discussion Board

Hey all,

I have had some pretty harsh pains from what seems to be my lupus flaring up, and I'm determined to figure out why this is happening and hoping that it's only something I'm eating too much of.

So, as a recommendation from Burgess, I'm going to post everything I eat for however long it takes to figure this out.

Anybody with any autoimmune expertise, your comments and opinions are greatly appreciated.

For the first few days I probably will not be eating entirely from the McDougall Elimination Diet (and it'll serve as a contrast to when I do starting eating strictly ED foods) because, well, I need to go shopping still and I at least have to eat breakfast and lunch tomorrow before I do.

Here's to finding out why my body is attacking itself.

Brandon

Good luck, Brandon -- I hope you get things figured out quickly.

I hope you are able to figure this out, Hun. Good luck.

You might consider answering these questions to help clarify the situation for new readers:
- Where are the pains appearing?
- How often?
- Why do you suspect diet might be the trigger for the pains?
- What diet have you been following -- a particular subset of the McDougall Regular diet, with 100% compliance? (How will your current diet differ from the elimination diet?)
- Has your current McDougall diet helped reduce your medical problems, and if so, in what way?

Good Luck Brandon. Elimination diets are very illuminating- here's to hoping you find some triggers you can get rid of very quickly!

Good luck Brandon! I will be following with much interest as I am very sensitive and reactive to so many foods. I thought non-gluten grains were okay, but this past month I've been getting a lot of inflammation again. So I cut out grains and within days the inflammation resolved almost 100%. Then this weekend I had brown rice for lunch and dinner on Saturday and the next day the inflammation was flaring up again. It seems pretty clear, sadly enough for me and my love of rice.

I might be able to handle some grains, but I'm going to eat just roots and gourds for my starches for a while before testing any other ones. My body doesn't like white potatoes (or red or purple, etc), but I think sweet potatoes and winter squashes are okay... I might end up eating an even more restricted diet than Burgess!

This weekend I went to an asian market and bought 3 roots I'd never had before: taro root, malanga (sp?) root (like taro but purple inside) and a cassava root. I've tried the taro so far (I boiled some peeled chunks for 20 minutes) and it was very tasty in a bland starchy way, and satisfying.

Day 1

Thanks Burgess -

My pains have been popping up in random places. A couple of days ago it was my thumb, last night it was my knee, it's been in the back of my knee and also my elbow as well. Recently, they have been appearing everyday, but switch places every couple of days. I'm really not sure at all if diet is playing a key role, but I haven't changed my medications at all recently (I stopped taking methotrexate a while back though).
I have basically been following the McDougall diet plan - I have oil very rarely (if I go to dinner at my favorite Ethiopian place, which happens pretty rarely). However, I eat nuts and use them as a dressing base. I have not noticed any new benefits from McDougalling than I have since turning vegan over a year ago.

Here's my meals:
B - 2 bananas, 5 mini purple potatoes
S - carrots
L - Salad [green cabbage, red cabbage, carrots, red bell pepper - dressing (unsweetened soy milk, cashews, apple, balsamic vinegar)], brown rice, and some pomegranate seeds
S - a couple Japanese sweet potatoes
D - brown rice, black beans, 3 small yukon golds and purple potatoes
Dessert - Mango

* Side note, does anybody notice that a change in the weather gives them inflammation?

Day 2:

Barely any pain this morning

B - 1 cup oatmeal with 2 tblspoons flax, a cup of blueberries, 1 banana, cinnamon and carob, and two small potatoes
L - carrots, salad (see lunch from day 1), 3 small sweet potatoes
S - a few small potatoes
D - a few purple potatoes with cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots sautéed in water, black beans
Dessert - 2 bananas, a couple sweet potatoes, some brown rice (more of a second dinner

Brandon

Some readers might be drawn to this thread to see an elimination diet performed. Here is Dr. McDougall's description of that diagnostic diet: http://www.drmcdougall.com/med_allergic.html

Note that in the first stage, perhaps a week or two, all foods are cooked, even the fruit. The purpose of that apparently is to break down the proteins that are usual suspects. If you are willing to take a risk -- which I personally, as a layman, think is very small -- you might skip the cooking everything stage.

Veganteen, you have rightly stated that you are not yet, at this point, on the elimination diet. It might be helpful to your readers to point out foods you are eating that are excluded by the elimination diet.

Here is my list of foods you have eaten so far, in your preliminary log, that would not be part of an ED if you were to start one:

- beans (except green, which are immature): soy, black
- peas: "split" (or "garden") peas; lentils
- grains (except rice): oatmeal, wheat, corn
- nuts: walnut, cashew
- other seeds (usually high protein): flax

- spices: carob, cinnamon
- vinegar (or other salad dressings)
- mushrooms
- white potatoes (Russets, reds, golds, "whites," purple, etc.)

EDITED TO ADD FOODS AS VEGANTEEN'S INTRIGUING ACCOUNT CONTINUES

Day 3

No noticeable pain


B - 4 small potatoes, banana
S - slice of orange (from a buddy)
L - carrots, salad (see day 1), brown rice, cucumber slices
D - 1lb bag broccoli cauliflower and carrots sauteed, two sweet potatoes, 1/2 cup split green peas

I'm thinking at this point it may be tomatoes for me, because I was having tomatoes every night with dinner when I was having the pain.

Brandon

I'm so glad you are pain-free again! That's wonderful news.

Tomatoes definitely cause inflammation in my body, but obviously everyone is different. Potatoes cause the same type of problems, but I don't seem to react quite as vigorously to them. The fact that these two both cause inflammatory problems for me makes me suspect all nightshades in my case, but I haven't motivated to test peppers or eggplant yet.

Some people have problems with the nightshades. I, thankfully, have not found that.

I don't know about inflamation flareups due to weather, could be. I had knee replacement surgery 5 months ago and my pain is definitely tied to the weather.

I am so happy you are on your way to figuring this out.

Day 4

No pain

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the support.

Since lunch I've felt kind of bloated, and my stomach is really full even though I don't think I've eaten that much...

B - 1 cup oatmeal with blueberries, flax, mango and cinnamon
L - carrots, salad, green split peas with rice
S - A few roasted sweet potatoes and the rest of the mango I used for breakfast
D - 1lb bag broccoli/cauliflower/carrots sauteed and served over brown rice
Dessert - banana

Day 5

No pain in the morning

B - Oatmeal banana waffles (oats, water, banana, flaxseeds, cinnamon)
L - Carrots, mango, rice, split green peas
S - A couple walnuts and a banana
D - Steamed broccoli and mushrooms, sweet potatoes/small red potatoes

Had some pain in one of my knuckles towards the end of the night, I wasn't able to bend that finger.

I notice that yesterday during lunch and dinner you ate walnuts and mushrooms. Those are both new foods since you've been posting your diet that you experienced pain. Could be coincidence, but it's worth making a note of and seeing what happens next time you try those foods.