Why nuts?

[Nancy LC]

Well, after weeks of experimentation it appears that nuts are a major culprit in my intestinal difficulties. What a blow! I kept expecting this intolerance to go away and keep trying and trying to add nuts back into my diet but every time I do I end up with the runs.

I think I can "get away" with maybe one or two portions a week but I wonder if that is wise. If my body is reacting badly then I tend to think that even if I don't have a large reaction to a small, infrequent amount, there's still stuff going on that probably isn't good even if I get by without a noticeable reaction.

*mourns the loss of nuts*

I noticed my reaction to seeds is even worse. I suspect that's why that sesame oil did such a number on me.

I wonder what it is in nuts and seeds that I am reacting to?

[NoWhammies]

I wonder if it is all nuts, or just certain types...have you isolated it to certain nuts and seeds, or just the whole food group in general?

[Nancy LC]

So far I think it is all of them: cashews, pecans, macadamias, almonds are the main one's I've tested. Pumpkin and sunflower seeds and sesame (oil).

I think I'll mention this to my doctor, maybe there's something like crohns or something going on.

[anita45]

Maybe it's something else Nancy - something else in your diet that's making you sensitive to these things? Am I correct in thinking that you could eat all of these things before?

Have you been allergy tested for any of them?

I'm allergic to nuts but it's pretty obvious there's a problem as my lips, face, neck etc can swell up and I develop generalised uticaria - I've actually been lucky that the reactions have not usually been this bad (ie not all these problems developing at once) - same thing happens with milk & eggs.

Allergies and intolerances are managed really badly - I'm 27 years old and my doctor has only just decided to give me steroids and adrenaline to carry round for emergencies and finally refer me to a specialist! So I can imagine that if you don't have such obvious or drastic symptoms they might not take you very seriously...

[ojoj]

I hope that doesnt happen to me - I love nuts!!! I dont know the answer, but I would guess its as Anita suggested, a mild form of her problem maybe?????

[Nancy LC]

Maybe it's something else Nancy - something else in your diet that's making you sensitive to these things? Am I correct in thinking that you could eat all of these things before?
I can't remember actually. I've had intestinal problems for at least 15 years. I know now that gluten was a big problem. I remember getting sick after eating popcorn sometimes. It's almost like very fiberous foods make me ill. Like the sharp pokey edges hurt me inside.


Have you been allergy tested for any of them?
Nope, I figured since my only symptom in intestinal it probably wouldn't be an allergy.


I'm allergic to nuts but it's pretty obvious there's a problem as my lips, face, neck etc can swell up and I develop generalised uticaria - I've actually been lucky that the reactions have not usually been this bad (ie not all these problems developing at once) - same thing happens with milk & eggs.I almost wish I'd get that, then I would know it is an allergy!

I think I'll mention it to my doctor. Maybe it'll ring a bell with him. I won't hold my breath though!

[anita45]

It's almost like very fiberous foods make me ill. Like the sharp pokey edges hurt me inside.



I can believe that - when I was vegan you would not believe the amount of fruit & veg I ate. It was insane. I had major intestinal issues and spent half my time on the toilet! It wasn't nice.

Now that I eat much less vegetable matter and have virtually eliminated fruit from my diet (along with grains etc), I'm fine.

I too had an issue with seeds - I was making some weird kind of bread in the microwave that consisted of ground sesame, pumpkin & sunflower seeds etc about a year ago - my intestinal problems returned for that short period.

On the other hand maybe it's something else entirely - perhaps you're just a bit run down?

[NoWhammies]

that sounds kind of like maybe it might be diverticulitis...definitely sounds like you could stand to be scoped.

[rightnow]

Well, the gluten you were intolerant to and ate for so long is likely to have done some damage to your digestive system; when this is untreated and continues it literally 'opens the door' to OTHER proteins etc. getting into the whole body. I think at that point, a large range of foods could result in problems that make you seem intolerant to them, but it might simply be that the gluten damage has not really had time to fully heal yet and so that passageway is improperly open. If that heals over time you might be able to eat some of the other things.

I know little, have only been reading a lot about this the last week, but it's starting to appear to me at least that gluten opens the door and then eventually all kinds of stuff is getting in, and eventually people think they're intolerant to everything (or think that because cutting out one or two foods doesn't fix it that intolerance wasn't the issue) but it's simply the damage gluten has already done. The body replaces its cells eventually so I suppose it heals (I hope so). So what your body reacts to today, if you stay off gluten, some of those your body might not react to in a year for all I know. Would be worth reading more about.

[NoWhammies]

So gluten is a "gateway drug". There otta be a law....

[Nancy LC]

I've been off gluten for nearly three years. :( I do know about the "gateways" and leaky gut issues that gluten (and possibly dairy) causes. It could be all these other intolerances got started at the same time.

LOL! NoWhammies. :)

Actually I haven't had nuts in over 24 hours and I'm still having issues, so maybe there's something else going on. I'll give it another couple of days.

I had a colonoscopy a couple years ago and they didn't see anything, but maybe an endoscopy is in order... ugh.

[deirdra]

What kind of nuts did you eat? I've heard of people who have similar reactions to almonds in their skins, but no problems with blanched almonds. I get hives/itchy or nauseous if I eat too many almonds/skins, walnuts or cashews, but pecans (from the baking aisle - nothing but pecans) & macadamia nut butter (100% mac nuts) never cause me any type of reaction. All nuts are not in the same allergen group; last time I was looking at a book on rotation diets & allergen groups, I was quite surprised how many different groups nuts span (birch, cherry, and a few others), so you may want to try one type of nut at a time. Also, any chance the nuts were a bit stale or moldy?

[Nancy LC]

No, all the nuts I've been trying over many months (different batches) are all fresh, raw and lovely from Trader Joe's. Cashews, pecans, almonds, macadamia nuts so far. Last batch of pecans I rinsed and soaked all day then roasted them in a dry oven myself.

I'm not ruling out it is something else yet, I've been off the nuts for a couple days and things are still unsettled.

[lcstudent]

I hope you find out what's bothering you! That's terrible about your issues with nuts. To be deprived of nut butters, how painful... well, you'll come up with something great being the cook you are. :)

[Nancy LC]

Pork butter!

[ruthla]

Hmm. The packages of nuts I get from Trader Joe's all have that "packaged in a facility with other tree nuts" warning on them.

Maybe try getting some nuts in their shells (maybe from a bulk bin so you can only buy a few, rather than buy a whole bunch you may not be able to eat). Then you can crack open one or two nuts with a clean nutcracker and know for certain you're only eating that one kind of nut, with no cross contamination.

Alternatively, cut nuts out for a few months to give your gut some time to heal before doing the nut experiment.

[Nancy LC]

Yeah, I'm nut free now. It seems to take a good 2-3 days for me to recover from a nuttening. :) I tried macadamias before I was fully recovered from pecans, so I'll try them in a couple days.

My god, those pecans are calling to me something fierce.

[steveed]

overnight in water and sea salt. Drain the buggers, dry em out and then try eating them.
The strange folks at Weston Price claim there are harmful enzymes in your nuts. Maybe these enzymes are tormenting your guts? Worth a try anyway?

[AuntWie]

I don't have any direct experience here, but that "sharp pokey things in my gut" feeling is how a friend used to describe her diverticulitis. Any chance the Eades' "gut healing shakes" would help? Just a thought.

Gateway drug indeed! ROTFL

[Nancy LC]

overnight in water and sea salt. Drain the buggers, dry em out and then try eating them.
The strange folks at Weston Price claim there are harmful enzymes in your nuts. Maybe these enzymes are tormenting your guts? Worth a try anyway?
Did this already, didn't work. :( Actually, I'm going to wait until I'm sure I'm over my glutening (Thanks In & Out burgers...) and try the batch of pecans I soaked and salted and dried. What's another couple days on the toilet?

[Nancy LC]

I hope you find out what's bothering you! That's terrible about your issues with nuts. To be deprived of nut butters, how painful... well, you'll come up with something great being the cook you are. :)
Salmon butter?
Zucchini butter?
...

I'm not coming up with anything here! :lol:

[Nancy LC]

I don't have any direct experience here, but that "sharp pokey things in my gut" feeling is how a friend used to describe her diverticulitis. Any chance the Eades' "gut healing shakes" would help? Just a thought.

Gateway drug indeed! ROTFL
I just read the medical description and I kind of think it isn't diverticulitis because the symptoms don't match that well. I've got D not C and I had my large intestines scoped not long ago and they were fine.

I bet it is something happening in the small intestines.

[IslandGirl]

Are you on any medications, Nancy? I've been doing some reading on adjunctives and it's quite mind-boggling the effects on the metabolism and intestinal tract that come along with them...


:wave:

[M Levac]

Are you on any medications, Nancy? I've been doing some reading on adjunctives and it's quite mind-boggling the effects on the metabolism and intestinal tract that come along with them...


:wave:

Or supplements such as vitamin C. Just a thought.

[Nancy LC]

I've stopped all supplements except Vit. D3 and the only meds I'm taking are thyroid. I was thinking my problems might be related to supplements but I don't think so since they haven't cleared up. I don't even take OTC stuff, except one day a month and only if I think I'm going to die from cramps. :p

I wonder if I'm not producing enough stomach acid or something?

[IslandGirl]

Hmmmmmm, that diverticulitis (or even damage from celiac) begins to sound like a stronger possibility, then, assuming you're not megadosing the Vit D.


Just for interest's sake, have a look at this page, not becuase of the scary immunosuppressives and such, or even the original "disease" referenced, but more for the symptoms\supplements\foodsources table provided:

http://www.pemphigus.org/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=80

It's more thorough than anything I can think of at the moment, in a nice summary form. Maybe it'll help.

Poor Nancy! How frustrating this is.

:wave:

[LukeA]

I wonder if I'm not producing enough stomach acid or something?

My aunt insists most people in the western world should be taking hydrochloric acid pills....she apparently swears by them. *shrug*

[IslandGirl]

...hmmmmmmmm, good point, Luke -- except that I'm thinking digestive enzymes...
Nancy, have you looked into cross-spectrum digestive enzyme supplements? readily available in the HFS, provide lipase, protease and amylase and their cousins, and were a huge help to my Dad's digestive "issues".

:wave:

[Nancy LC]

Poor Nancy! How frustrating this is.

awwww, thanks! I'm going to go see the doctor in a few weeks. I suspect I need to get an endoscopy done or they need to take a look at what's going on with me. Maybe it's H. Pylori or something like that.

Meanwhile, I'm living on ground buffalo burgers fried in goose fat, fresh raw tomatoes, fresh apricots (thanks to my tree!), avocados, and leeks fried in goose fat with the burger.

Woe is me! I am soooooo deprived. :lol:

I guess it couldn't hurt to try to enzyme's. Hopefully they're not grown on wheat.

[number42]

Salmon butter?
Zucchini butter?
...

I'm not coming up with anything here! :lol:

Any suitable substitutes here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Fatsandoils ?

Then again, I'm not really clear on the properties of butter in cooking. Rendered fats wouldn't work as well?

[Nancy LC]

Shea butter looks interesting.

[lowcarbUgh]

Shea butter looks interesting.

To eat?

What about avocado butter? :D