Questions on diet

Alzheimer's, cardiovascular, and other chronic diseases; biomarkers, lifestyle, supplements, drugs, and health care.
Surupe
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2018 10:41 am

Questions on diet

Post by Surupe »

I’m a 51 year old 4/4 with high LDL, hypothyroid, Sibo, malabsorption issues, and I suspect histamine problems. Some of my questions regarding diet have been answered but not all. Mainly, I don’t know what to eat. The Fodmaps diet restricts a ton of healthy food (avocado is the worst one). If I try to follow Mediterranean with low animal protein, Fodmaps, and low histamine diets, I’m severely restricted. What do I do?
Thanks in advance!
E4/E4
User avatar
HeatherLst
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 88
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2017 10:45 am
Location: Kentucky
Contact:

Re: Questions on diet

Post by HeatherLst »

When myself or my kids had multiple diagnoses at once, we always sat down with our doctor and listed them in order of the top three things dramatically impacting our life. And then we worked down the list.

Most of the diets you listed are going to help the others. They may not cure each item, but each one will get you further down the path. Personally, I’d begin with SIBO, as it dramatically influences the others. You can’t solve histamine issues as long as you have SIBO. And SIBO affects the brain.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
APOE4/4
User avatar
SusanJ
Senior Contributor
Senior Contributor
Posts: 3058
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2013 7:33 am
Location: Western Colorado

Re: Questions on diet

Post by SusanJ »

Surupe wrote:I’m a 51 year old 4/4 with high LDL, hypothyroid, Sibo, malabsorption issues, and I suspect histamine problems.
I agree with Heather that treating SIBO first is important, and will likely help immensely with histamine issues. In the meantime, you might consider some DAO supplements with meals to tame histamine from food. They are spendy, but helpful in getting over the hump.

I'd also suggest looking at Fast Track Digestion (IBS) by Norm Robillard. He looks at the SIBO and IBS trouble through the lens of the fermentable potential of food. You just watch those FP numbers and it helps you keep more foods in your diet. Made a big difference for me when I was changing my diet and working on my gut.
https://digestivehealthinstitute.org/pr ... paperback/

And are you low-carb? Some folks have trouble with hypothyroidism on low-carb.
Surupe
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2018 10:41 am

Re: Questions on diet

Post by Surupe »

Thank you, Heather and Susan , for these suggestions! I will look into the DAO supplements. I think I was overwhelmed with all the different dietary restrictions. It won’t be so bad if I just focus on 1 type of diet. I broke my Fodmaps diet today and had a big bowl of Red lentil beans. Boy am I paying the price. I tried to take the recommend antibiotics for Sibo but had an allergic reaction to them. The great news is that I don’t have leaky gut!!!

I am not low carb since my thyroid crashed after 1 month of keto. That was awful. I won’t make that mistake again! Most of the carbs I eat are from green bananas, grapes, and nuts...nothing too crazy.
E4/E4
Plumster
Senior Contributor
Senior Contributor
Posts: 620
Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2017 6:19 pm

Re: Questions on diet

Post by Plumster »

I’m a 51 year old 4/4 with high LDL, hypothyroid, Sibo, malabsorption issues, and I suspect histamine problems. Some of my questions regarding diet have been answered but not all. Mainly, I don’t know what to eat. The Fodmaps diet restricts a ton of healthy food (avocado is the worst one). If I try to follow Mediterranean with low animal protein, Fodmaps, and low histamine diets, I’m severely restricted. What do I do?
Thanks in advance!
SIBO can be caused by low stomach acid, in which case you'll want to take betaine hcl when you eat protein. Otherwise, protein can be very hard to digest. When I had SIBO, I just continued my usual plant-based diet, took betaine hcl, and did an herbal antibiotic for a month. My fm doctor recommended the following and it worked for me:
Metagenics Candibactin-AR
Metagenics Candibactin-BR
2 herbal combination formulas together, at a dose of 2 caps 2 x day x 4 weeks, for each formula.
e3/4 MTHFR C677T/A1298C COMT V158M++ COMT H62H++ MTRR A66G ++ HLA DR
Surupe
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2018 10:41 am

Re: Questions on diet

Post by Surupe »

Plumster,
That candi-Bactin AR tore me up. The stomach pain from that was way worse than Sibo discomfort. I gave up after 3 days. It was intolerable. I tried Flagyl but had an allergic reaction on day 4. I’m still untreated. Any other ideas for me?
Thank you!
E4/E4
User avatar
HeatherLst
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 88
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2017 10:45 am
Location: Kentucky
Contact:

Re: Questions on diet

Post by HeatherLst »

There are multiple types of SIBO. I believe the antibiotics have about a 50% success rate on the hydrogen type, but only a 20% success rate on the methanogen type. With the methanogen type it’s harder to kill the archaebacteria involved—they’re tricky and like to hide out, play dead.

One thing I will say is if you have SIBO be careful with grapes—they’re almost pure sugar. Man, I can eat a pound at a time—they’re my favorite. But I’ve had to cut them out.

Like you, keto just doesn’t agree with me. I can do it short term but any longer than a month and I start noticing problems. I feel better low carb. As I’ve gotten my SIBO under control and my diet more balanced, my hypothyroid has normalized.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
APOE4/4
Surupe
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2018 10:41 am

Re: Questions on diet

Post by Surupe »

HeatherLst,
Sadly, I’m methane predominant. I got a list of the 3 bad bacteria and the 2 good bacteria that are low. I can’t remember the good bacteria’s name but I read it’s common to have low levels in IBS. The treatment is Concord grape juice. It has a crap ton of sugar but I’m taking 1 cup a day.
20% is horrible odds. What did you do?
E4/E4
User avatar
Julie G
Mod
Mod
Posts: 9187
Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2013 6:36 pm

Re: Questions on diet

Post by Julie G »

Hi Surupe! I also have (had?) a methane predominant SIBO that has proved resistant to both antimicrobial and traditional antibiotic treatments. I recently did a low FODMAP trial with a product designed to treat methane predominant SIBO called Atrantil. I have to admit, I was miserable for the month —lots of GI symptoms— BUT (drumroll, please) something changed as a result of the treatment. I can now eat many foods that I was previously unable to tolerate. Cashews are one example. They used to cause widespread body pain for me, now— nothing. I'm unsure if my SIBO is gone, but regardless, my gut is functioning much better. Interestingly, my longstanding h.Pylori is inexplicably negative since the Atrantil trial. Woo hoo!

BTW, I agree with Heather that Concord grape juice is probably not a great idea to remodel gut microbiotica because of the high sugar. There are many other high polyphenol foods that may be even more effective. My personal favorites are cloves (in my coffee) hazelnuts, almonds, matcha tea (made with silica water) and high polyphenol EVOO.
User avatar
TheBrain
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 1413
Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2014 12:12 pm

Re: Questions on diet

Post by TheBrain »

You’ve received some great suggestions here. I’ll add that the Facebook group SIBO SOS, run by Shivan Sarna, is a great resource. I have (had?) hydrogen sulfide SIBO and Rifaximin worked wonders for my mental fatigue but nothing else. A key factor with SIBO is finding the root cause of it and addressing that. Otherwise, reoccurrence is likely.
ApoE 4/4 - When I was in 7th grade, my fellow students in history class called me "The Brain" because I had such a memory for detail. I excelled at memorization and aced tests. This childhood memory helps me cope!
Post Reply