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January: Gut Health Challenge


JumpyTheFrog
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You might try to increase the variety of ingredients of foods you eat each week. I don’t mean foods, I mean ingredients. Most people eat corn, wheat, dairy, and only a handful of other food ingredients. I read a book that challenged you to eat 50-250 base foods each week. Apparently the wider the variety the healthier your gut. 
 

eta: varieties of foods count. IE: if your salads have romaine, green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, arugula, iceberg, green cabbage, white cabbage, and parsley, they each count. 

Edited by Katy
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57 minutes ago, Katy said:

I read a book that challenged you to eat 50-250 base foods each week.

Oooooh, that is a great idea. I think I will start with eating twenty different vegetables per week. Would green bell peppers and colored bell peppers be considered two different vegetables or do they only count as one? If they only count as one, would hot peppers be separate from bell peppers?

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9 minutes ago, JumpyTheFrog said:

Oooooh, that is a great idea. I think I will start with eating twenty different vegetables per week. Would green bell peppers and colored bell peppers be considered two different vegetables or do they only count as one? If they only count as one, would hot peppers be separate from bell peppers?

Every color of sweet pepper counts. Every variety of hot pepper counts. Every variety of every kind if produce counts. 

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22 hours ago, Katy said:

I read a book that challenged you to eat 50-250 base foods each week. Apparently the wider the variety the healthier your gut. 

I was curious about this so I thought I would track a normal day.

So far - it's afternoon here - I've eaten eggs, olive oil, red peppers, courgette, aubergine,  onion, garlic, cheese, salt, pepper, basil,  oats, wheat, rapeseed oil, Marmite, leeks, parsnip, mushrooms, soya, green beans. Only two fermented products in there - Marmite and cheese - but lots of variety. 20 items so far.

ETA: add in prawns, quinoa, red cabbage, mandarin and chocolate.  So 25 for the day unless your split out the constituents of the chocolate.

Edited by Laura Corin
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I am going to go on the diet I have been told to do many, many times but haven't stuck to.   The Mediterranean diet.   I need to get my inflammation under control.   

One thing I read yesterday was that simmering is healthier than pan searing?     I have never heard this before and don't really see how it can change the health of the cooking, but maybe someone can explain to me.  

 

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12 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

cut out sugar (including alternatives, some of which are just as bad.)

go low carb (which will turn into sugars in the gut.)

 

Are you cutting out stevia too?  

I am cutting out sugar and flour/wheat for sure, but not completely low carb.

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57 minutes ago, DawnM said:

 

Are you cutting out stevia too?  

I am cutting out sugar and flour/wheat for sure, but not completely low carb.

Though your question wasn’t directed to me, I will answer.

My nutritionist wants me to limit fruit to 1-2 per day and add in tons more vegetables.

They want me to drastically lower my fructose intake. That means mostly not sweetening what I eat, and if I do then I can sweeten with either maple syrup or stevia.

In my case, they are saying that fructose is contributing to gout and other gut health markers.

On a side note, I have found that maple syrup in coffee makes it taste beautiful, with deep caramel notes. It does not taste mapley. 

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1 hour ago, DawnM said:

I am going to go on the diet I have been told to do many, many times but haven't stuck to.   The Mediterranean diet.   I need to get my inflammation under control.   

One thing I read yesterday was that simmering is healthier than pan searing?     I have never heard this before and don't really see how it can change the health of the cooking, but maybe someone can explain to me.  

 

I am doing this as well, for inflammation as well as gut health.

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2 minutes ago, Harriet Vane said:

I would be interested to understand why. I have read widely varying reviews.

people think 'sweetness' is all about calories - it isn't.  it's about what it does to your gut.  it feeds the yeast that lives in your gut - and that can be worse than calories.

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I think I need a tracking sheet for checking off all the different vegetables I eat in a week in order to help me each a much wider variety of foods. If anyone knows of one, please post a link to it. I think I'll start out with thirty different vegetables per week and see if I can hit fifty by the end of the month. I suppose I will have to start buying three different types of onions and adding spring mix to my broccoli slaw salads. That should get me to about twenty different veggies per week. I'll have to start roasting broccoli and cauliflower in the air fryer, too.

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On 12/28/2020 at 4:37 PM, DawnM said:

I am going to go on the diet I have been told to do many, many times but haven't stuck to.   The Mediterranean diet.

The folks at Oldways have tons of information on the Med Diet and will be starting a January "We are in this together" group/help.  Details available on the website.

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7 minutes ago, VickiMNE said:

The folks at Oldways have tons of information on the Med Diet and will be starting a January "We are in this together" group/help.  Details available on the website.

Thanks.   have you done it?   I am hesitant to join as they say you have to follow their menu plan.   My time is quite limited and I have allergies, soI really don't want to be locked into a specific daily meal plan.

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On 12/28/2020 at 11:48 AM, gardenmom5 said:

people think 'sweetness' is all about calories - it isn't.  it's about what it does to your gut.  it feeds the yeast that lives in your gut - and that can be worse than calories.

 

Are you cutting out fruit too?   

I think I will plan to keep stevia and fruit in my diet for now.   I may eliminate and see if it helps down the line, but for now, I don't plan to eliminate them.

 

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10 hours ago, DawnM said:

Thanks.   have you done it?   I am hesitant to join as they say you have to follow their menu plan.   My time is quite limited and I have allergies, soI really don't want to be locked into a specific daily meal plan.

Last year I didn't have the book and used the daily posts as inspiration to do what I could. This year I have the book and will follow along somewhat. People make it their own.  There are some other MedDiet FB groups as well which can provide some inspiration and encouragement.

I suppose it depends on if you want a info on the Med Diet, a strict plan to follow,  or inspiration to adapt what you are already doing to be more Med Diet compliant.  I can point you to different blogs/groups depending on your goals.

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Where does the suggestion to eat such a huge number of different fruits and veggies come from? No traditional diet can be like that unless you live in the tropics; that's only possible if you transport the produce long distances from the growing area, which adds all kinds of other concerns. We can't possibly have evolved to require this type of eating for health. Cherries and blueberries aren't in season in most of the country.

Edited by regentrude
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52 minutes ago, regentrude said:

Where does the suggestion to eat such a huge number of different fruits and veggies come from? No traditional diet can be like that unless you live in the tropics; that's only possible if you transport the produce long distances from the growing area, which adds all kinds of other concerns. We can't possibly have evolved to require this type of eating for health. Cherries and blueberries aren't in season in most of the country.

Yes. Different colours of veggies are doable though and offer a range of nutrients. In season here at present are a variety of colours of brassica and carrots. 

Traditionally in this climate I would have been eating stored apples plus a variety of preserved fruit, however. 

Edited by Laura Corin
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1 hour ago, regentrude said:

Where does the suggestion to eat such a huge number of different fruits and veggies come from? No traditional diet can be like that unless you live in the tropics; 

I agree. However, I believe the idea is that the different types of fiber and prebiotics in the different types of produce feed different species of bacteria, so a more diverse diet would lead to more diverse gut flora. My gut flora is a mess because I was on antibiotics repeatedly as a toddler for ear infections and then from ages 8-16 for numerous sinus infections and bouts of strep throat. A stool test showed extremely low diversity of beneficial bacteria and overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria.

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2 hours ago, Seasider too said:

Honestly, I found it much easier to train my tastebuds away from sweet tastes than to try to keep track of which sweeteners are acceptable. I’ve tasted stevia a few times but didn’t like it. I believe it was just as easy to train myself to eat no sweet flavor at all as it would have been to learn to like an oddly-sweet alternative such as stevia. When I am well on pace with my food plan, I can use a little maple syrup, but the only place I use that is a drizzle over oatmeal and a once-in-a-blue-moon maple vinaigrette dressing. But I will try a few drops in my coffee some time, as suggested upthread!

I remember when I ate NO added sugar at all. - including milk products and fruit.     graham crackers were overly sweet. ( I ate one as a 'treat'.)

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2 hours ago, Seasider too said:

Are you dealing with SIBO? Or only gout? Fructose is a hard sugar to digest with SIBO. I stick to mostly berries but when my gut bacteria is under control I can add other things. Thanks for the maple syrup tip. 
 

I am seriously getting back to my SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth) control diet, including kicking out the gluten, sugar and most dairy. Sort of low FODMAP/whole food/low carb/ Mediterranean, though it doesn’t exactly fit any of those categories because over the years I’ve learned what makes my body tick right (and wrong!), food-wise. My dietician calls it Pegan (pee-gun), because it’s near the same foods as vegan plus clean lean protein. I am supposed to keep coffee consumption under 10oz daily, and will switch over to tea for the most part. Also, gut motility is an issue with SIBO, so regular exercise including a later afternoon walk helps with overnight food processing. 
 

So, concise list:

Eat clean & hydrate

Increase regular exercise

Take supplements faithfully

This is the “for now” list. I have a physical with blood work scheduled for mid-February, if things look ok there - which would surprise and thrill me after my covid winter diet diversions - I will move on to further diet and lifestyle refinements according to the stricter plan based on genetics work I had done a few years back.

Thanks for the kickstart, Jumpy!

 

The doctor has not used the term SIBO for me. A couple years ago I experienced a devastating and life-threatening c diff infection that put me in the ICU with sepsis. I had to take major nuclear antibiotics for six months to kill it off. Nothing has been the same since. I gained a ton of weight rapidly and have had a hard time losing it despite a healthy diet and intense exercise 4-5 times per week. (Though I am really glad to say that the intense exercise has had a remarkable effect on pain and on health.) Lab tests showed food sensitivities (especially gluten and dairy) and difficulties with fructose. I don't really understand it all, to be honest with you. The doctor said I do not digest food well and that the infection and the antibiotics killed off gut flora needed for a healthy system. I also have gout and EDS.

Your approach is much of what I am doing. Love the term pegan! I am taking supplements in hopes of healing what is damaged and reseeding the system. There are some things I will have to avoid for the rest of my life--I feel sad about that but am trying to be proactive in finding foods that are genuinely tasty. The toughest part has been getting away from sugar and from cheese. 

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Okay, my nutritionist had said to have maple syrup or stevia for sweeteners. Accordingly, I ordered a bag of stevia, though the plan all along has been to become radically low sugar. I just thought it would be good to have the option.

It tastes HIDEOUS.

I just cannot even  😵

I will have to just go low sugar and no sugar, because there is no way I can ever become acclimated to this white demon powder.

I can still taste it lingering on my lips and it's giving me a headache.

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44 minutes ago, Harriet Vane said:

Okay, my nutritionist had said to have maple syrup or stevia for sweeteners. Accordingly, I ordered a bag of stevia, though the plan all along has been to become radically low sugar. I just thought it would be good to have the option.

It tastes HIDEOUS.

I just cannot even  😵

I will have to just go low sugar and no sugar, because there is no way I can ever become acclimated to this white demon powder.

I can still taste it lingering on my lips and it's giving me a headache.

I have been seeing Monkfruit Sweeteners everywhere I shop for the last couple of years. I have never tried it, but seems to be a favorite amongst the previously-stevia uses i know.

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On 12/30/2020 at 9:09 AM, Monica_in_Switzerland said:

The Daily Dozen app by Dr. Greger is really good and also free.  It's aimed at getting in the dozen healthiest food categories, and within each category, there is a list of various things that belong in the category, as well as serving size.  You can be vegan, but don't need to be vegan, to use it.  

I agree. Love this free app!

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