Re: weight gain, diet changes, allergy testing, stevia - sugar substitute

April 26, 1999

During my second bout with CFIDS from '91 to '94 I gained about twenty pounds.

It's not much compared to some people, but it still affected how I felt about

myself, and said something about my health. I was bedridden for the first year

and made no dietary changes during any of those years. I was blissfully

uniformed! As I recovered, my weight returned to normal.

Since this third bout hit me in '96, I've gradually lost about 20 pounds and

have verged on catabolic. (I'm 5'10 and 123lbs.) I saw Cheney right away in

'96 and got on a fairly typical basic CFIDS diet: no sugar, minimal fruit, no

nutrasweet, low " bad " fat (though supplementation of omega 3 and omega 6 is

highly recommended), minimal caffeine, and no alcohol. He also suggested doing

eliminations of dairy products for several weeks, then going back on them, them

going off again to see if I was sensitive. Many of us have or develop

sensitivies to dairy products. Same goes for glutten.

Allergy testing by the ALCAT test revealed many food sensitivies and I spent

six months on a very limited four-day rotation diet, but it really helped,

though the benefits plateaued at about six months. The same ALCAT test a year

later showed far fewer sensitives and they were mostly to different things.

Typical for CFIDS, when our sensitivites are caused by our leaky gut

(intestintal permeability does sound much better, though!) We tend to become

sensitive to whatever we eat a lot of, as has been pointed out before on this

list.

My memory is fuzzy because it's been awhile, but I think Cheney talked about the

fact that our bodies no longer metabolize fat or sugar in the normal way. Sugar

becomes neurotoxic and can contribute to a varitey of symptoms. For me it

significantly increased my pain. Great motivator to stay away from it!!

Stevia has been a great discovery. It's an herb from Brazil (I think) that is

incredibly sweet. A little goes a long way. Most health food stores carry it

in powder or liquid form. One drop will do a cup or glass of tea for me. I

believe you can cook with it, though I haven't yet. It's also great for those

of us who deal with candida.

Take care all.

Carol

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