Re: OT: Blood Transfusion Reaction

[Guest guest]

Thank you for sharing your experience n! I am very interested in LDN and

I've been trying to gather some research from the discussions going on here.

However, it is my understanding that you need to be at 5-10mg of Prednisone a

day... I can't wait for that day to come! I am currently at 22.5mg and trying to

taper. 20mg is my threshold, but I have been having a very successful taper so

far now that I have been on SCD. Fingers crossed!

-Joanna

SCD 9/2009, Crohn's 1992, 22.5mg Prednisone

> I know I'm sounding like a broken record, but please consider looking into

> LDN.

>

> n

>

> --

> Now available. A fine gift for cat lovers:

> Confessions of a Cataholic: My Life With the 10 Cats Who Caused My

> Addiction

> by n Van Til

> www.wordpowerpublishing.com ; signed copies; free shipping in U.S.,

> reduced shipping elsewhere

>

[Guest guest]

Is your yogurt coconut, or cow/goat? You'll want to stick with coconut (or nut)

for your green smoothies, because calcium binds to iron and keeps it from being

absorbed. Same with no cheese on iron containing veggies and meats. Being low on

iron sucks!

Holly

Crohn's

SCD 12/01/08

>

> > The same with fruits- I love the suggestion of eating " green

> > smoothies " - I could easily make them every morning. But, I haven't

> > been able to eat seeded fruits for years and I'm not sure what to

> > mix the greens with? I know this is Alyssa's baby- any suggestions

> > for easily digestible fruits? And which are the best greens to puree

> > with them? I do have a good juicer so I'd be willing to try that too

> > if there were some good juice concoction I could drink every day.

>

>

> I think the pureeing of the fruit/greens really makes a difference in

> digestibility. I still can't have salad, and I get D if I have too

> much raw fruit that isn't blended, but I don't seem to have a problem

> with the smoothies. THen again, I do have a $400 blender, which does a

> really good job. Much better and smoother than I could ever chew

> things up. What do you mean by seeded fruits? Like strawberries? My

> favorite smoothie is a banana, some frozen strawberries, some yogurt,

> some spinach, some knudsen's just blueberry juice, and water. IMO,

> spinach is the friendliest of the greens; tastes very mild, and is

> easier to blend very smooth. I would definitely try baby spinach

> first. As for fruit, anything you can tolerate would probably be fine;

> you might have to play a bit with the tastes to see what you like. I

> always put yogurt and a banana in my smoothie though, so you could

> just modify your morning smoothie a bit and add a few spinach leaves.

>

> Cheers!

> Alyssa 16 yo

> UC April 2008, dx Sept 2008

> SCD June 2009 (restarted)

> Azathioprine 75 mg 1x per day

> Prednisone 22.5 mg 1x per day

>

[Guest guest]

Is your yogurt coconut, or cow/goat? You'll want to stick with coconut (or nut) for your green smoothies, because calcium binds to iron and keeps it from being absorbed. Same with no cheese on iron containing veggies and meats. Being low on iron sucks!Well POOP. Cheers!Alyssa 16 yo UC April 2008, dx Sept 2008SCD June 2009 (restarted)Azathioprine 75 mg 1x per dayPrednisone 22.5 mg 1x per day

[Guest guest]

DITTO on what Alyssa just said. But, thank you Holly for that valuable piece of

info. I even made chopped liver yesterday, but was eating it on cheese chips...

I guess I might just have to eat it plain. Ugh. And, of course, I never pay

attention to the group when they are talking about making coconut yogurt so I'll

be the jerk RE-asking questions we have already talked about!

-Joanna

>

> > Is your yogurt coconut, or cow/goat? You'll want to stick with

> > coconut (or nut) for your green smoothies, because calcium binds to

> > iron and keeps it from being absorbed. Same with no cheese on iron

> > containing veggies and meats. Being low on iron sucks!

>

>

> Well POOP.

>

> Cheers!

> Alyssa 16 yo

> UC April 2008, dx Sept 2008

> SCD June 2009 (restarted)

> Azathioprine 75 mg 1x per day

> Prednisone 22.5 mg 1x per day

>

[Guest guest]

My thoughts exactly!

Holly

>

> > Is your yogurt coconut, or cow/goat? You'll want to stick with

> > coconut (or nut) for your green smoothies, because calcium binds to

> > iron and keeps it from being absorbed. Same with no cheese on iron

> > containing veggies and meats. Being low on iron sucks!

>

>

> Well POOP.

>

> Cheers!

> Alyssa 16 yo

> UC April 2008, dx Sept 2008

> SCD June 2009 (restarted)

> Azathioprine 75 mg 1x per day

> Prednisone 22.5 mg 1x per day

>

[Guest guest]

THANK YOU MARA! Now I've got in in my files

Joanna

[Guest guest]

Forgive me if this shows up twice, because I think yahoo ate it the first time

round :-)

I found more info on absorbing iron at

http://www.chiro.org/nutrition/FULL/Iron_Too_Much_of_a_Good_Thing.shtml . Here

are the highlights:

- Generally, iron in plant foods is not as well absorbed as iron from meat: Only

5 percent of iron in plant foods is available, vs. 30 to 50 percent of iron from

meat.

- Olive oil and spices such as anise, caraway, cumin, licorice and mint promote

iron absorption

- antacids, eggs and soy reduce availability

- Since dairy products contain lactoferrin, milk also inhibits the absorption of

iron.

- Vitamin C also increases iron absorption

- Bioflavonoids (found in berries, coffee, green tea, pine bark, quercetin and

the rind of citrus fruits, particularly blueberry, cranberry, elderberry and

grape seed) and phytic acid (a component of whole grains and seeds such as

sesame) bind to iron and other minerals in the gastric tract and help to limit

iron availability.

So no smoothies with yogurt, eggs, berries, or nuts. Aren't I just a ray of

sunshine ;-)

Holly

Crohn's

SCD 12/01/08

>

> > Is your yogurt coconut, or cow/goat? You'll want to stick with

> > coconut (or nut) for your green smoothies, because calcium binds to

> > iron and keeps it from being absorbed. Same with no cheese on iron

> > containing veggies and meats. Being low on iron sucks!

>

>

> Well POOP.

>

> Cheers!

> Alyssa 16 yo

> UC April 2008, dx Sept 2008

> SCD June 2009 (restarted)

> Azathioprine 75 mg 1x per day

> Prednisone 22.5 mg 1x per day

>

[Guest guest]

- Since dairy products contain lactoferrin, milk also inhibits the absorption of iron.This is what I'm confused about. I thought there was just recently a discussion on supplementing lactoferrin, and how it could be really GOOD for iron deficient anemia BECAUSE it binds iron, and helps absorption. For instance, this website I just found talks about how lactoferrin is supposed to help iron absorption by binding to the iron and taking it where it needs to go: http://www.healthyfellow.com/309/lactoferrin-and-anemia/Am I missing something? Cheers!Alyssa 16 yo UC April 2008, dx Sept 2008SCD June 2009 (restarted)Azathioprine 75 mg 1x per dayPrednisone 22.5 mg 1x per day

[Guest guest]

Thanks for posting that, better to know and adjust.  I have all this raspberry juice smoothies now lol.

 

I sort of read the post on lactoferrin, will have to read up.  Is it supposed to be taken separately or added to a smoothie and/or can you do orange juice as the base or grape juice (vitamin C)?

 

Debbie 41 cd

 

So eggs in olive oil in the morning are not helping me.  Wow.

 

- Since dairy products contain lactoferrin, milk also inhibits the absorption of iron.

This is what I'm confused about. I thought there was just recently a discussion on supplementing lactoferrin, and how it could be really GOOD for iron deficient anemia BECAUSE it binds iron, and helps absorption. For instance, this website I just found talks about how lactoferrin is supposed to help iron absorption by binding to the iron and taking it where it needs to go: http://www.healthyfellow.com/309/lactoferrin-and-anemia/

Am I missing something?

Cheers!

Alyssa 16 yo 

UC April 2008, dx Sept 2008

SCD June 2009 (restarted)Azathioprine 75 mg 1x per day

Prednisone 22.5 mg 1x per day

[Guest guest]

At 09:34 PM 5/31/2010, you wrote:

So eggs in olive oil in the

morning are not helping me. Wow.

What will help, more than anything, is eating a balanced diet and not

obsessing about what's with which.

—

Marilyn

New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

Babette the Foundling Beagle

[Guest guest]

True.  Sometimes I have salad, DCCC or cheese crackers with my eggs anyway--even yogurt a lot of times so why am I even worried about it.

 

It is easy to get caught up when you are trying to get a problem resolved.

 

Hope you had a nice weekend ;-).

 

Debbie 41 cd

On Mon, May 31, 2010 at 10:37 PM, Wizop Marilyn L. Alm wrote:

 

At 09:34 PM 5/31/2010, you wrote:

So eggs in olive oil in the morning are not helping me.  Wow.What will help, more than anything, is eating a balanced diet and not obsessing about what's with which.

— Marilyn    New Orleans, Louisiana, USA    Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001    Darn Good SCD Cook

    No Human Children    Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund     Babette the Foundling Beagle       

[Guest guest]

At 10:57 PM 5/31/2010, you wrote:

True. Sometimes I have

salad, DCCC or cheese crackers with my eggs anyway--even yogurt a lot of

times so why am I even worried about it.

It is easy to get caught up when you are trying to get a problem

resolved.

Hope you had a nice weekend ;-).

Mostly t-storms. Harry didn't have today off because his company gives

them Mardi Gras Day instead.

—

Marilyn

New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

Babette the Foundling Beagle

[Guest guest]

What will help, more than anything, is eating a balanced diet and not obsessing about what's with which.Exactly. Plus, since as Mara pointed out, we don't even know how most of this stuff actually works, I'd think it's better to just eat a balanced diet, enjoy your food, and not stress too much over things that are more or less beyond our control anyways. Cheers!Alyssa 16 yo UC April 2008, dx Sept 2008SCD June 2009 (restarted)Azathioprine 75 mg 1x per dayPrednisone 22.5 mg 1x per day

[Guest guest]

What will help, more than anything, is eating a

balanced diet and not obsessing about what's with which.

— Marilyn

I agree. We HAVE to be meticulous about what we

eat. But you can drive yourself crazy nit

picking about other stuff: acid/alkaline balance,

food combining, what you can eat with what,

salicylates, is stainless steel migrating out of

the pots into the food, blah blah blah. To me

this is like where Elaine said didn't we have

enough to do without trying to soak nuts. We do

have plenty to do and I think if we concentrate

on the main things, the little stuff will probably take care of itself.

[Guest guest]

Hey Debbie,

What brand of sugar-free frozen raspberries did you find? I've looked at several

stores (not Wal Mart though) to try and find frozen raspberries without any

added sugar, but I've been unsuccessful.

Thanks!

Amber

I bought sugar-free raspberries frozen at Wal-Mart,

> cooked them down, strained them. J

[Guest guest]

Wal-Mart Great Valu.  I checked WF and a couple of others and couldn't find just raspberry.  Safeway has some unsweetened frozen fruit but I don't recall which ones.

 

Debbie 41 cd

 

Hey Debbie,What brand of sugar-free frozen raspberries did you find? I've looked at several stores (not Wal Mart though) to try and find frozen raspberries without any added sugar, but I've been unsuccessful.

Thanks!Amber I bought sugar-free raspberries frozen at Wal-Mart,> cooked them down, strained them. J

[Guest guest]

Balanced or not, I've never been able to maintain my iron levels, so I'm

desperate to try anything to avoid more iron infusions! Even if it means no

cheese with my meat :-(.

I wish I could find some organic liver, but most stores around here don't even

carry regular liver (one sometimes has livers from conventional chickens, but

I'm leery of them).

Holly

Crohn's

SCD 12/01/08

> >So eggs in olive oil in the morning are not helping me. Wow.

>

> What will help, more than anything, is eating a

> balanced diet and not obsessing about what's with which.

>

>

> — Marilyn

> New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

> Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

> Darn Good SCD Cook

> No Human Children

> Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

> Babette the Foundling Beagle

>

[Guest guest]

Trader Joe's usually has a good selection of frozen berries too. They even had

frozen organic raspberries at a good price (under $4).

Holly

Crohn's

SCD 12/01/08

>

> >

> >

> > Hey Debbie,

> >

> > What brand of sugar-free frozen raspberries did you find? I've looked at

> > several stores (not Wal Mart though) to try and find frozen raspberries

> > without any added sugar, but I've been unsuccessful.

> >

> > Thanks!

> >

> > Amber

> >

> >

> > I bought sugar-free raspberries frozen at Wal-Mart,

> > > cooked them down, strained them. J

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hey Holly- do you live near any farmer's markets? I am spoiled here in Ohio- we

have them every weekend in the nice weather and we have an all-year round indoor

market as well. Both have local farmers who will whip out cow, chicken, lamb, or

goat livers on demand! I never knew there would be such a decision to make until

I actually went to buy them this weekend

Hopefully you can find something reputable- I, personally, wouldn't trust a

liver from a factory farmed chicken either.

-Joanna

> > >So eggs in olive oil in the morning are not helping me. Wow.

> >

> > What will help, more than anything, is eating a

> > balanced diet and not obsessing about what's with which.

> >

> >

> > — Marilyn

> > New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

> > Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

> > Darn Good SCD Cook

> > No Human Children

> > Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

> > Babette the Foundling Beagle

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Awesome, thanks, Debbie!

Amber

>

> >

> >

> > Hey Debbie,

> >

> > What brand of sugar-free frozen raspberries did you find? I've looked at

> > several stores (not Wal Mart though) to try and find frozen raspberries

> > without any added sugar, but I've been unsuccessful.

> >

> > Thanks!

> >

> > Amber

> >

> >

> > I bought sugar-free raspberries frozen at Wal-Mart,

> > > cooked them down, strained them. J

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Holly. Unfortunately I don't have a Trader Joe's here. I'm

really hoping they build one out here soon.

Amber

> >

> > >

> > >

> > > Hey Debbie,

> > >

> > > What brand of sugar-free frozen raspberries did you find? I've looked at

> > > several stores (not Wal Mart though) to try and find frozen raspberries

> > > without any added sugar, but I've been unsuccessful.

> > >

> > > Thanks!

> > >

> > > Amber

> > >

> > >

> > > I bought sugar-free raspberries frozen at Wal-Mart,

> > > > cooked them down, strained them. J

> > >

> > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Joanna,

Unfortunately, there is not much in my part of the city. I live on the NW edge

of the greater Phoenix area, and for some weird reason, the west valley lacks

many things (like good farmer's markets) that the east valley has :-(.

According to this site (

http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/509-liver-files.html , a little more

then half way down the page is a chart ), lamb liver is vastly superior in terms

of iron content, followed by veal and beef. Chicken is paltry in comparison! It

would be awesome if I could find some lamb liver!

Holly

Crohn's

SCD 12/01/08

> > > >So eggs in olive oil in the morning are not helping me. Wow.

> > >

> > > What will help, more than anything, is eating a

> > > balanced diet and not obsessing about what's with which.

> > >

> > >

> > > — Marilyn

> > > New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

> > > Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

> > > Darn Good SCD Cook

> > > No Human Children

> > > Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

> > > Babette the Foundling Beagle

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

What a great article and resource! I am definitely going to try the sheep liver

next time. Thanks for sharing!

-Joanna

> > > > >So eggs in olive oil in the morning are not helping me. Wow.

> > > >

> > > > What will help, more than anything, is eating a

> > > > balanced diet and not obsessing about what's with which.

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > — Marilyn

> > > > New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

> > > > Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

> > > > Darn Good SCD Cook

> > > > No Human Children

> > > > Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

> > > > Babette the Foundling Beagle

> > > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hey, I've mentioned this before, but to say it again, the iron in plants vs. meat is non-heme vs. heme iron, and if you combine them, the heme iron helps the absorbtion of the non-heme, so it's not a totally black and white issue.

Best,p.s. vitamin A also helps absorption.. etc. etc.

 

I found more info on absorbing iron at http://www.chiro.org/nutrition/FULL/Iron_Too_Much_of_a_Good_Thing.shtml . Here are the highlights:

- Generally, iron in plant foods is not as well absorbed as iron from meat: Only 5 percent of iron in plant foods is available, vs. 30 to 50 percent of iron from meat.

- Olive oil and spices such as anise, caraway, cumin, licorice and mint promote iron absorption

- antacids, eggs and soy reduce availability

- Since dairy products contain lactoferrin, milk also inhibits the absorption of iron.

- Vitamin C also increases iron absorption

- Bioflavonoids (found in berries, coffee, green tea, pine bark, quercetin and the rind of citrus fruits, particularly blueberry, cranberry, elderberry and grape seed) and phytic acid (a component of whole grains and seeds such as sesame) bind to iron and other minerals in the gastric tract and help to limit iron availability.

So no smoothies with yogurt, eggs, berries, or nuts. Aren't I just a ray of sunshine ;-)

Holly

Crohn's

SCD 12/01/08

>

> > Is your yogurt coconut, or cow/goat? You'll want to stick with

> > coconut (or nut) for your green smoothies, because calcium binds to

> > iron and keeps it from being absorbed. Same with no cheese on iron

> > containing veggies and meats. Being low on iron sucks!

>

>

> Well POOP.

>

> Cheers!

> Alyssa 16 yo

> UC April 2008, dx Sept 2008

> SCD June 2009 (restarted)

> Azathioprine 75 mg 1x per day

> Prednisone 22.5 mg 1x per day

>

[Guest guest]

Hey Joanna,Best wishes, I just wanted to express concern over your cinnamon. Back when I was fighting a bad ulcer cinnamon drove it nuts, and if you are experiencing bleeding, cinnamon is very hot and I am concerned might actually be making it worse. Just something to think about.

Best!!

 

Before I get into the details of my diet, I just wanted to thank Debbie and Holly for sharing their experiences and wisdom! As always, it was so nice to know that I wasn't alone. I was kind of freaked out and wasn't sure how serious the reaction was, but am so glad to know that it's pretty common. And I am really open to trying new things through the diet to improve my blood counts! I always figured that since I am always bleeding (and this has been going on for most of my 18 years of having this disease) there was no way to keep my levels up until I could get better and stop the bleeding. But I have new hope now!

I've been keeping a journal since I started- it covers what I eat, how much I sleep, how many times a day I go (and how formed each one is), and any other things that might influence how I am feeling (if I traveled, had a stressful day, etc. etc.)

So here goes on the food... I am a creature of habit so I tend to eat the same things every day- and I kind of peaked at Stage 2-3 so I haven't really introduced any new foods in a while. This is what I've been eating for about the past month or so...

Breakfast:

Smoothie (yogurt, frozen banana, cinnamon, splash of coffee)

Lunch:

Protein <Buffalo Meatloaf (buffalo, avocado, squash, egg) OR Buffalo Burger OR Quiche (crab, spinach, egg, yogurt, seasonings)>

Cheese chips (about 2 oz worth of cheese)

Spinach/Artichoke/DCCC/Parmesan (about 1-2 oz worth)

Snacks:

Apple & Pear Sauce (cooked and pureed) with yogurt

Squash Buttons (squash, banana, & coconut oil pureed and cooked) with cinnamon and honey OR a squash brownie (almond butter, squash, eggs, honey-baked)

Dinner:

Protein <Fish/Shrimp 3xweek- broiled or stirfried, Pork Ribs 1xweek slow cooked and broiled, the rest of time it varies between Buffalo Burgers, Buffalo Meatloaf, Broiled Lamb and Broiled Pork Loin>

Side Dish <baked kale or avocado, occasional sauteed spinach>

Dessert- 3/4 cup frozen yogurt with about 2 Tbl. almond butter

Snack:

2-3 Hardboiled Eggs

I can see where my struggles are- I get so flustered trying to figure out how to get my veggies! I think my spinach artichoke dip has been an interesting solution, but I know I'm not eating that much to make a significant impact. I try to eat sauteed spinach when I have my weekly shrimp dish, but it general tends to go through me. Raw veggies... forget it! I wish so badly I could eat a salad. The same with fruits- I love the suggestion of eating " green smoothies " - I could easily make them every morning. But, I haven't been able to eat seeded fruits for years and I'm not sure what to mix the greens with? I know this is Alyssa's baby- any suggestions for easily digestible fruits? And which are the best greens to puree with them? I do have a good juicer so I'd be willing to try that too if there were some good juice concoction I could drink every day. My main thing is that I HATE chicken soup. Oh, I know!!! It sounds like blasphemy on this site. My mom fed me too much growing up and now I can't stand it. I try to get broth in creative ways like making avocado soup with it, but that happens very rarely. Let just PRETEND like I wasn't going to make that fabulous " Iron Soup " Debbie suggested... where do I go from here? I like the idea of liver- I do like chopped liver. And I think I could get in to pickled beets. How do I prepare these?

As always, this list serv is a lifesaver- physically and emotionally! I am excited to get some feedback and to start making some positive changes. Goooo IRON!

Thanks

Joanna

P.S. Sorry if this posts twice- I tried this morning and it hasn't showed up so I am trying again...

--- In BTVC-SCD , " Wizop Marilyn L. Alm "

> What are you currently eating, and how are you

> preparing it? Are you keeping a food diary?

>

>

> — Marilyn