Wrestling with all the food recommendations

Newcomer introductions, personal anecdotes, caregiver issues, lab results, and n=1 experimentation.
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waltezell
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Wrestling with all the food recommendations

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Bredesen’s The End of Alzheimer's Program was finally published and I’ve been reading it. FODMAPs? Resistant starch? Elimination diet? This End of Alzheimer’s thing is one hell of a rabbit hole. Fending of diabetes and heart disease seems simple by comparison.
I went to bed last night thinking I could write a book presenting an elimination diet meal plan with recipes. Then I wondered if it had already been done. I kept waking up during the night wondering the same. Finally at 6:30 am I got up, went to Amazon on my computer, and found three such books. I ordered the one that seemed most thorough and professional. No need for me to reinvent the wheel. I’ll have to revert to writing about genocide, ancestry, or confirmation bias.
That book is called The Elimination Diet: Discover the Foods that are Making You Sick and Tired, and Feel Better Fast.
Well, not so fast. Maybe in a couple of months?
In the new Bredesen book there is a lot about what to eat and how food affects us. The elimination diet is just one part of it. Today with this in mind I went shopping at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. Most of my shopping list wasn’t at Trader Joe’s. I got white beans (great northern) and a miso broth. The man in the baking section said they didn’t have sofrito, but were expecting to get some in soon for the first time. He thought it was a spice. At Whole Foods I found Bob’s Red Mill potato starch, 365 organic brown teff, 365 organic Italian Barley, Bob’s Red Mill organic whole grain buckwheat, and bulk millet. And I found Sky Valley small batch Red Sofrito Sauce.
I don’t know yet what to do with these groceries, except that I can put the potato starch in a smoothie (or coffee?) tomorrow morning. Otherwise I will need to read the packages and do a web search for recipes.
I’ve already tried getting rid of gluten for a couple of months, then fell off the wagon, and now it looks as if I’ll be circling around again with an entire elimination diet, but not till after the election. I need to use up a lot of forbidden (but not famously terrible) food in my freezer, fridge and pantry.
I wish I had a physician who was all in on the End of Alzheimer’s ReCODE protocol. My GP is young, new to me after my previous doctor retired in June, and would rather cajole and be a bit passive rather than argue and risk losing a patient.
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SusanJ
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Re: Wrestling with all the food recommendations

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waltezell wrote:In the new Bredesen book there is a lot about what to eat and how food affects us. The elimination diet is just one part of it.
Figuring out the diet is hard for many of us. I can speak from experience that an elimination diet, done right, will highlight problematic foods to cut out of your diet. It does take time, months in fact, for the reintroduction phase if several foods are problematic. I did one years ago designed by a nutritionist, and a few years back followed the Autoimmune Protocol (several websites and books on that one) for a few months.

Hope the book helps you create a plan, but if you struggle with the enormity of the task, consider hiring a nutritionist who has experience with elimination diets to help guide you. Also, consider using Cronometer to track your food, not only for the nutrition breakdown, but that you can add notes to track symptoms (headaches, itchiness, GI problems, etc).

Good luck and let us know how it goes!
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Re: Wrestling with all the food recommendations

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waltezell wrote:I wish I had a physician who was all in on the End of Alzheimer’s ReCODE protocol. My GP is young, new to me after my previous doctor retired in June, and would rather cajole and be a bit passive rather than argue and risk losing a patient.
You could consider consulting with a health coach to help guide you through the elimination diet process. The WIKI has a list of health coaches here with some that are certified in RECODE.

Health coaching is a client-centered process in which the client determines their own path and the coach provides the support and encouragement to make positive and lasting lifestyle changes. Coaches guide the client to create a vision for their health and help them set goals to achieve that vision. Coaches can supply information and education, work with clients to explore options, brainstorm, prioritize, set goals, help them stay accountable, explore barriers, and celebrate successes. For improving or preventing cognitive decline, health coaches can support clients as they learn about healthier lifestyle options and work to improve their diet, exercise, sleep, relaxation, social engagement or any other habits to reach their health goals. Note: coaches will most likely will not be physicians, physician assistants, or nurse practitioners, so will not be ordering or interpreting lab tests, or prescribing medicine.
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waltezell
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Re: Wrestling with all the food recommendations

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SusanJ wrote:
waltezell wrote:In the new Bredesen book there is a lot about what to eat and how food affects us. The elimination diet is just one part of it.
Figuring out the diet is hard for many of us. I can speak from experience that an elimination diet, done right, will highlight problematic foods to cut out of your diet. It does take time, months in fact, for the reintroduction phase if several foods are problematic. I did one years ago designed by a nutritionist, and a few years back followed the Autoimmune Protocol (several websites and books on that one) for a few months.

Hope the book helps you create a plan, but if you struggle with the enormity of the task, consider hiring a nutritionist who has experience with elimination diets to help guide you. Also, consider using Cronometer to track your food, not only for the nutrition breakdown, but that you can add notes to track symptoms (headaches, itchiness, GI problems, etc).

Good luck and let us know how it goes!
Cronometer sounds interesting. I have been using MyFitnessPal to track my nutrition. It is easy to use, but I don't know that it has a way to add notes about symptoms.

The Elimination Diet book arrived today. And immediately it set off alarm bells. In the description of Phase 1, it said I might lose 5-7 pounds in the 2-day initial detox phase, and in first two weeks the average weight loss is 15-16 pounds. I am already 5 pounds below what I've long thought of as my optimum weight. I wonder if there is an elimination diet for skinny people.

One thing I like about the new Bredesen book is it devotes adequate attention to people who don't want to lose weight. That possibility seems not to occur to the authors of the Elimination book, though to be fair I have not yet read most of it.
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Re: Wrestling with all the food recommendations

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waltezell wrote: The Elimination Diet book arrived today. And immediately it set off alarm bells. In the description of Phase 1, it said I might lose 5-7 pounds in the 2-day initial detox phase, and in first two weeks the average weight loss is 15-16 pounds. I am already 5 pounds below what I've long thought of as my optimum weight. I wonder if there is an elimination diet for skinny people.

One thing I like about the new Bredesen book is it devotes adequate attention to people who don't want to lose weight. That possibility seems not to occur to the authors of the Elimination book, though to be fair I have not yet read most of it.
If healthy fats are allowed, that is a great way to add concentrated calories to meet your body’s needs and not lose weight.
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waltezell
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Re: Wrestling with all the food recommendations

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floramaria wrote:
waltezell wrote: The Elimination Diet book arrived today. And immediately it set off alarm bells. In the description of Phase 1, it said I might lose 5-7 pounds in the 2-day initial detox phase, and in first two weeks the average weight loss is 15-16 pounds. I am already 5 pounds below what I've long thought of as my optimum weight. I wonder if there is an elimination diet for skinny people.

One thing I like about the new Bredesen book is it devotes adequate attention to people who don't want to lose weight. That possibility seems not to occur to the authors of the Elimination book, though to be fair I have not yet read most of it.
If healthy fats are allowed, that is a great way to add concentrated calories to meet your body’s needs and not lose weight.
In The Elimination Diet I eventually found two references to this issue. One is that pregnant women can loosen up on some of the restrictions, and also this quote:

"I'm an athlete--Will this diet provide enough nutrients and calories?
"Absolutely. ... Just make sure you are eating enough calories while on the program. This may mean eating lots of extra snacks, and larger meals to accommodate your needs." (p. 188).
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Re: Wrestling with all the food recommendations

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waltezell wrote:One thing I like about the new Bredesen book is it devotes adequate attention to people who don't want to lose weight. That possibility seems not to occur to the authors of the Elimination book...
Given the rate of obesity in this country, I'd say they might not have considered it.

I agree with floramaria. Eat healthy fats. They will not likely be a huge issue in causing inflammation, but you can track symptoms to be sure. The only caveat would be with nuts in that they are one of the top 8 allergens. But adding more EVOO to salads and vegetables, or adding coconut oil to smoothies might get you through to the other side without a lot of weight loss. Also make sure you are getting enough protein. I've noticed that now that I'm in my 60s, I need a little more than Dr. Bredesen and others recommend to feel my best.

And I speak from experience that the key will be tracking your calories closely and make sure you get enough to maintain your weight. I didn't my last go and it can be hard to bump your weight when you get into a deficit while on an elimination diet.
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Re: Wrestling with all the food recommendations

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waltezell wrote: "I'm an athlete--Will this diet provide enough nutrients and calories?
"Absolutely. ... Just make sure you are eating enough calories while on the program. This may mean eating lots of extra snacks, and larger meals to accommodate your needs." (p. 188).
While I know it is possible to get enough calories while on an Elimination diet, “absolutely” in this quote makes it sound like you will almost automatically Meet your caloric needs if you eat lots of snacks. But that would be depended on what the snacks are. The key, as SusanJ wrote, will be tracking calories. While I don’t have much experience with the Elimination diet, I do run into unwanted and unneeded weight loss working with people who are transitioning to ketogenic diet. They can’t understand why they are losing weight and say things like “ I eat all the time” or “I am sure I am eating enough. Why am I losing weight?” When they keep a food journal for a few days and run it through Cron-o-meter, the problem is very clear: many of the days they are eating only 700-900 calories.
Until you get to a point where you really understand your caloric needs and your have a good sense of calories in various foods, it is essential to monitor closely if you don’t want to lose weight. Cronometer is not the only tool for this, but one of the things I like about it is that you can enter your height, weight, and daily activity, and it calculates the number of calories you need to maintain your weight. And as you input the food for the day, you can see if you are reaching that level.
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Re: Wrestling with all the food recommendations

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In the new Bredesen book there is a lot about what to eat and how food affects us. The elimination diet is just one part of it.
I'm sorry the book has you feeling overwhelmed, waltezell. I assume that you understand that not everyone has to conduct an elimination diet. It's ONLY recommended if you have any chronic GI issues that aren't resolved by using the strategies described in chapter 9. Also, in case you missed it, we do provide simple instructions for "how-to" conduct an elimination diet on page 131. I'm unsure if your version of the diet is compatible with KetoFLEX 12/3 (?)

Keep in mind that it's extraordinarily common to have unidentified food sensitivities and an elimination diet (if you need it) often reveals surprising and helpful information. Hang in there, my friend.
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Re: Wrestling with all the food recommendations

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floramaria wrote:
waltezell wrote: "I'm an athlete--Will this diet provide enough nutrients and calories?
"Absolutely. ... Just make sure you are eating enough calories while on the program. This may mean eating lots of extra snacks, and larger meals to accommodate your needs." (p. 188).
While I know it is possible to get enough calories while on an Elimination diet, “absolutely” in this quote makes it sound like you will almost automatically Meet your caloric needs if you eat lots of snacks. But that would be depended on what the snacks are. The key, as SusanJ wrote, will be tracking calories. While I don’t have much experience with the Elimination diet, I do run into unwanted and unneeded weight loss working with people who are transitioning to ketogenic diet. They can’t understand why they are losing weight and say things like “ I eat all the time” or “I am sure I am eating enough. Why am I losing weight?” When they keep a food journal for a few days and run it through Cron-o-meter, the problem is very clear: many of the days they are eating only 700-900 calories.
Until you get to a point where you really understand your caloric needs and your have a good sense of calories in various foods, it is essential to monitor closely if you don’t want to lose weight. Cronometer is not the only tool for this, but one of the things I like about it is that you can enter your height, weight, and daily activity, and it calculates the number of calories you need to maintain your weight. And as you input the food for the day, you can see if you are reaching that level.
At some point I would like to post a comparison of Cronometer and MyFitnessPal, which is what I am using now. Here's an example of some of the in-depth information I can harvest from MyFitnessPal daily. My base caloric requirements are 2,224. Today I expended 718 additional calories from walking and training with weights. Today I ate 1,915 calories, so I ran a 957-calorie deficit, unusually high. I'll keep an eye on that but my weight has been stable for the last month, despite MyFitnessPal calculating a deficit every day.
My macro breakdown for today is 37% carbs, 42% fat and 21% protein. The calorie consumption and macro calculations are probably accurate, but clearly the software app thinks I need more calories than I actually do.
There are all these books with titles that sound like what I'm looking for, with weeks of meal plans and recipes for everything in the plans. But I add up the calories and they all fall way short.
-- The Complete Anti-inflammatory Diet for Beginners
-- The Anti-Inflammatory Diet Meal Prep
-- The Whole Foods Diet
-- Easy Everyday Keto
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