June2018

Volume3Issue4

We know that diet is a major component of healing. While theFoundation has its own recommendations, questions often come upaboutthevalueofotherpopulardiets. Wewill lookatfourofthemanddiscusshowtheyfitintoanMCdietplan.We tend to concentrate on diet, but should not neglect the role ofmentalandemotionalhealthinthehealingprocess.Thefinalarticleinthenewsletteraddressesthisimportantpoint.

AutoimmuneProtocolDiet(AIP)

Theautoimmuneprotocol diet aims toremove known inflammatory foods fora period of time, generally 30 days,and then slowly reintroduce thosefoods to identify which of those aretriggers. AIP advises to initiallyeliminategrains, legumes,dairy,eggs,nuts, nightshades (except sweet

potatoes),alcohol,sweeteners,refinedsugars,refinedoils,foodadditivesandprocessed foods.Theprotocolpromoteseatingqualitymeat (includingorganmeat), fish, shellfish, vegetables, fruit, high quality fats, bone broth andprobiotic/fermentedfoods.

Although some of these suggestions can be problematic for those sufferingfrommicroscopiccolitis,thedietcanbemodifiedandindividualizedtoaideinachieving remission. For example, fermented foods can trigger a reaction forthosewithmicroscopiccolitisduetohighhistamines.Additionally,cruciferousvegetables (such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy and Brusselsprouts) and leafy green can also cause digestive issues. For these reasons,onecanchoose toalsoeliminate these foodswhen following theAIPdiet. AdayofmealsontheAIPdietcanlooklike:

Breakfast:HomemadebonebrothwithwellcookedmeatandcarrotsLunch:Salmon,sweetpotatoandwell-cookedsquashnoodles.Dinner:Turkey,yuccaandabakedappleSnack:Banana

For more information about the autoimmune protocol diet, please visithttps://www.thepaleomom.com/start-here/the-autoimmune-protocol/

PaleoDiet

ThetheorybehindthePaleoDietisthathumansevolvedoverthepasttwoandahalfmillionyearsashunter-gatherers.Butinthepast10,000yearsorso,asfarmingdevelopedtosupportlargerpopulations,dietschangedradicallyfrom

mostlymeat,fruitandnutstoaheavyreliance on grains and dairy. Then inthemodernera,highlyprocessedfoodcontaininglotsoffatsandsugarshavebecome prevalent. These changesoccurred faster than humans couldadapttheirgenetics,resultinginmanyof the health problems we see todaysuch as diabetes, obesity, anddigestiveproblems.

The Paleo Diet tries to adapt available modern foods to mimic as much aspossiblethehunter-gathererdiet.Thismeanseliminatingallgrains,dairy,andlegumes such as soy and beans. Also, avoid refined sugar and processedfoods.Theemphasisisongrass-fedanimals,wildcaughtfish,vegetables,nutsand oils fromnon-grain oils such as olive andgrapeseed. Fruits, vegetablesandnutsareimportant.

Manyoftheseprinciplesarepartofourmicroscopiccolitisdiet.Wehavefoundthat themost commonallergensarewheat,dairyandsoy (legumes). Someother aspects of the diet don’tworkwell for us, especially at the beginning.Forexample,nuts,saladgreens,fruit,andrawvegetablesaretooirritatingona healing gut. Also, each person with MC can have unique sensitivities toparticular food items that need to be identified. So the PaleoDiet canbe agoodplacetostart,butusuallyneedstobemodifiedfortheindividual.

SpecificCarbohydrateDiet(SCD)

ThisdietisdesignedforpeoplewithGIdisorders. The theory is that if youeliminate hard-to-digest complexcarbohydrates from the diet,inflammationinthegutwillbereducedandhealingwilltakeplace.Itisaveryrestrictivediet, as it eliminatesalmostall grains, starchy vegetables, and

sugars. Theonlycarbohydratesandsugarscome fromnatural foodsources,such as those found in unsweetened fruit and somenon-starchy vegetables. Lactose-free dairy products, such as aged cheeses are allowed. Somelegumes, suchasbean,peasandpeanutsareallowed,whileothers, suchassoybeansandchickpeasarebanned.Proteinandfatsarenotimpactedinthisdiet,althoughunprocessed, leanmeatsaresuggested.Manyother foodsarealsoeliminated,ifyoulookatthelonglist.This is a very restrictive diet, that doesn’t work well with MC. Lactose-freediary is allowed, butmanyof us are sensitive to theprotein casein found indiary,not just the lactose. Butweneedcalories,andmostof thecarbsthatthe SCD allows include legumes that don’t work for us. The SCD alsoeliminatesstarchyvegetables likepotatoes thatdowork formanyofus. SobetweenwhattheSCDallowsandwhatdoesn’tworkforMC,itwouldbehardtomodifythisdietforusandfindenoughcalories.

FODMAPDiet

FODMAPs stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides,Monosaccharides, and Polyols. Diets that avoid certain foods referred to asFODMAPsarepopularnowasawaytotreatvariousdigestiveissues.

It'sclaimedthatFODMAPsarepoorlyabsorbedbysomepeopleandbecauseofthattheycancausedigestiveproblems.Thatmaywellbetrue,butwhenIlookatalistofthefoodsthatareconsideredtobehigh-FODMAPfoods,Iseealistof high-histamine foods. And when I look at a list of recommended foods(because they are considered to be low-FODMAP foods), I see a list of low-histamine foods.Nownoteveryoneagreesonexactlywhich foods shouldbeclassified as high-histamine and low-histamine. And likewise, there isconsiderable disagreement between lists that rate the FODMAP status ofvariousfoods.High-FODMAPfoodsaremostlyhigh-fiberandhigh-histaminefoods.Whileit'strue that not every high-FODMAP food is also a high-histamine food, theFODMAPdiet is irrelevant forMCpatientswhoareusingdiet to control theirsymptoms.Here'swhy: If someone is following thediet recommendations forcontrollingMC,includinglimitingfiber,sugar,spicyfoods,andfoodsthatcausetheir immune system to produce antibodies, as well as foods that areconsideredtobehigh-histamine,thentheyhavenoneedtoworryabouthigh-FODMAPfoodsbecausetheyarealreadyminimizingallofthem.Justcompareafew lists and you'll see what I mean. So the FODMAP diet is irrelevant foranyonewhoisalreadyusingdiettocontroltheirMC.

MagnesiumandHistamine

Dietsthathavebeenproventoreducecardiovasculardiseaseandotherhealthissues that can lead to increased mortality are high in magnesium content.Magnesium deficiency is very common among the general population.Magnesium deficiency can cause an increase in histamine levels andinflammation.ThefactthatmagnesiumdeficiencyisoftenassociatedwithMC,andthe tendencyofamagnesiumdeficientstate to induceashift in thegutbacteria profile toward higher histidine-producing species could explain howgutbacteriamightpromoteinflammationthatleadstothedevelopmentof,orthe perpetuation of, microscopic colitis, in certain cases. Microscopic colitis,together with all other autoimmune-type diseases may be perpetuated bymastcells,possiblyasmuchormorethanlymphocytes,insomecases.Thisisdespite the fact that the medical community generally doesn’t realize thatmastcellsmaybeassociatedwiththedisease.

MentalandEmotionalAspectsofHealing

byGabesRyan

Therewas interesting information from themovieHeal. It is a documentary

that looksatvariousaspectsof ‘healing’,with inputs fromvarious functionaldoctors/practitioners.Thiswasnotablockbuster,anditwasprobablynotshownoradvertisedatanymainstreammovietheatres.Onekeypointthatmanyparticipantstalkedaboutwasthatthecurrenthealthsystemisgearedtowards“acutecare”formajorinjury,majororganissue,etc. In these cases, then yes, hospital is the best place. Functional medicinecannothelpastabwoundorburstappendix.Thenagain,thehealthsystemisnotgearedtosupportchronicillness,wheretimeisneededtoconfirmtherootcause,andtreattherootcause.AnotherkeypartofthemoviewastheresearchdonebyKellyTurner,PhD.Sheauthored "Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer Against All Odds". Over thepastdecadeshedidresearchin10differentcountriesandanalyzedover1500casesofradicalremissionofcancer.Therewereover75differentaspectsthatthepatientstried,buttherewere9keythingsthatmostimplemented:

RadicallychangedietTakecontrolofhealthFollowyourintuitionHerbs/supplementsReleasesuppressedemotionsIncreasepositiveemotionsEmbracesocialsupportDeepenspiritualconnectionHavestrongreasonforliving

Sevenofthenineareaboutthemental/emotionalaspectsofhealing.Ihavespent the last 8-10 years on a wellness journey, not just fromMC but fromotherhealthissues.Ihavefoundduringthattimethatthepeoplewhodogetwell, optimize their wellness by doing the mental /emotional work ofhealing.It’snotjustabouttherighteatingplanandtherightsupplements.