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Anybody out there tried the "Low Starch" Diet and what is your thoughts?

Posted , 5 users are following.

jim93390
jim93390

I have been on the low starch diet for about 3 years and I think it has helped me. Just wondering what other peoples responses are and what foods they eliminated.

Myself: I eat very little potatoes, breads, pasta, anything with modified corn syrup and food starch.

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • TreatMeGently
    TreatMeGently jim93390

    Posted

    Hi Jim

    I handle my AS in a similar way - I flare most when my digestion is out of wack.

    I'm not completely NSD but regularly have potatoes and rice for my carbs. I don't have anything with wheat, barley, rye or glucose syrup either. It looks like you are following the gold standard full no starch - hats off to you!

    I'm 75% better most of the time - and have been doing my diet for 23 years.

    You may be aware that Dr. Brian Ebringer's research seems to be vindicated by the recent work where they have identified other gut bacteria as playing a role in other autoimmune diseases.

    I've been following closely the research of Alessio Fasano - who has extended his initial Celiac disease work to cover other autoimmune diseases - including diabetes!

    • jim93390
      jim93390 TreatMeGently

      Posted

      YES Dr. Brian Ebringer's research is where found out about the low starch diet....I was tired of being pumped up with drugs and decided to do some research myself. My Rhume. (western medicene) thought was to try it ands see if it works!. All the rhume's know is what they read in textbooks. I was told that 80% of humans problems are from what we digest.

       

    • mancjude
      mancjude TreatMeGently

      Posted

      Hi TreatMeGently

       "Dr. Brian Ebringer's research seems to be vindicated"

      I've searched for more info on that, do you have a link for it ?

      Thanks

      Jude

  • mancjude
    mancjude jim93390

    Posted

    Hi Jim

    Intresting to see your post.

    We tried looking into a low starch diet a few years ago, when our son first became diagnosed with A.S. But found it to be a nightmare trying to keep to starch free products. Do you follow specific recipes or just cutting back?

    Hope to hear from you

    Jude

    • jim93390
      jim93390 mancjude

      Posted

      this is the site:

      http://www.kickas.org/medical/15.shtml

      I discovered this ~3 years ago when I became sick-and-tired of "western medicene" treatments masking the symptoms but not the cause. I woiuld say that I am generally better off because of the "low Starch" diet.

      Fact: I had instances that it felt like my spine was compressing inside my body and I would become sick (barf), Anti-inflammatory drugs did nothing to subdue the pain.  that's how much it hurt! At that time I was also  on 20 mg. methotrexate and 900 mg. of Remecade. I get an occasional flare up but I feel more tired than anything ...and not to the point that I would become sick. I essentially eliminated potatoes, pasta, corn, corn starch, peas, modified food starch. I still binge occasionally but my body informs me of it and I feel crappy for a spell.You can get a small bottle of iodine and tests foods to see if thay contain starch (turns black) It explains that and more  in the kickas website. good luck.

       

  • rose0000
    rose0000 jim93390

    Posted

    I intend to start a no carbs diet in the morning. I am convinced having read your wonderful link that this could help. To be honest, I will try anything to help, I am really so unwell at the moment. 

    I am going to keep a diary and will keep the forum posted on my own personal findings. 

  • andrew03486
    andrew03486 jim93390

    Posted

    I haven't intentially been on a low starch diet but the eating plan I have adopted probably fits within much of the parameters of the low starch diet. From some reading I have done there seems to be a good case for avoiding gluten, especially for people with autoimmune conditions like AS. Even if someone doesn't suffer from celiacs or even have a sensitivity(estimates are at least 30% of people are sensitive to gluten), gluten could contribute to an autoimmune reaction. Avoiding gluten is no small matter since it is so pervasive in the food supply and it has an addictive quality.

    Gluten might not be the only problem as people might have sensitivities to other things like dairy, caffiene, alchohol, sugar, legumes, and grains. We are all so different due to our genetic makeup that what might be fine for one person is another's poison. Pinpointing different food sensitivities and following through to avoid those foods, could play a very significant role in treatment. I think many people are getting really good results from the "low starch" diet. Many doctors minimize it because there is not enough "hard evidence" to support it, but who is going to pay for a double blind placebo test on something like that.

    I think if people are getting results they are onto something and maybe if they take it a step further by zeroing in on foods within the low starch diet that they might have sensitivities to which trigger an autoimmune response they might be able to get even better results.

    • TreatMeGently
      TreatMeGently andrew03486

      Posted

      Hi Andrew

      I completely agree with you.

      I am sure that no-starch is not the end-game solution for all of us with AS.

      As you say - other foods can create an auto-immune response, I was told this by my doctor Dr. John Mansfield when I was about 19 (I'm now 49) - he went on to collaborate with Dr. Gail Darlington (a very senior Rheumatologist) and treated lots of people with RA and some with AS using elimination diet.

      History of treatment is scattered with lots of reports of success with dietry regimens -

      Dr. John Turnbull from nearly 100 years ago - has a few reports still accessible online. Then there are lots of documented treatments from a Dr. Jean Seignalet over many years.

      My belief is that many autoimmune diseases will have the same causes -

      - gut dysbiosis 

      - intestinal permeability 

      - leaking of gut flora / dietary proteins

      - the rest is then down to genetics

      I highly recommend that people google video lectures online from Professor A. Fasano University of Maryland.  If you have an autoimmune disease then you will never eat gluten again.

    • TreatMeGently
      TreatMeGently andrew03486

      Posted

      Hi Andrew - my post went to moderation not sure why?

      There are plenty of studies on pubmed that show infection and dietary links to autoimmine disease - but the drug treatment regimes are engrained.

      Autoimmune disease is a mis-firing immune response to an external antigen protein - be it bacterial or dietary - where the amino acid sequences on the protein are similar to own own.

      You only have to look at Celiac disease and see that it can affect gut, skin, eyes, brain - yet remove the antigen (gliadin) and the disease lessens or stops.  

      With AS we are aware that klebsiella bacteria is one of the antigens - but I suspect with our messed up immune systems that we get cross reaction with other proteins too.

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