Sugar,diet and does it affect VA symptoms?

Yes,seems i can do a treadmill,im thinking walking briskly would caus more irritation. Also I ate bad for 2 weeks,used the holiday for an excuse. Back to eating well.

I like that Beverly.  We have to take responsibility for ourselves and do what we can, don't we:-)  That's not to say ladies on here aren't doing that - I know so many are searching for the best answer to their problems!

I've eaten badly for a couple of weeks too Lee.  But have to admit, I did enjoy it, and I'd hate to think I'd got to eat healthily with no treats for the rest of my life.  I'm quite happy to eat really healthily for most of the time but that piece of cake or something once a week makes it all worth it:-)))  But like you, I've got to get back to eating well now:-)  Or perhaps that should be :-( LOL!

Yes, they are searching, Chris and I think quite a few of us have found answers and consolation (if nothing else) knowing there are many women out there dealing with the same issues.There's always strength in numbers, so we need to tell our doctors that we have found other women with these issues. It's too easy to feel it's just you unless the doctors say they have many patients with X, Y or Z ot that a certain percentage of the population have them. They seem reluctant to say that for some reason.

Gwen, if you had stopped eating white bread then went back to it, didn't it taste more like desert to you than bread? That's how it strikes me. I eat only whole grains and actually prefer them. People make comments about tasting like cardboard, etc, but I find them tastier & more satisfying. Have tried gluten free, but the breads are impossible.

 If you really get into different food theories you can go crazy, so I mix it up a bit. But when it comes to sugar I think it's best to go easy. Might be easy for me as I'm the type who can eat 1 or 2 cookies and be satisfied. I have friends that absolutely can't stop. But again, if we wean ourselves off I think the craving lessens.

Have been reading up on the connections between yeast, sugar, seborrheic dermatitis because the one time I took Diflucan many years ago my scalp cleared right up. Not sure why it isn't treated systemically instead of topically with shampoos and prescription creams. And keep in mind yeast can live in your digestive system and urinary tract. Look up candida and it almost sounds like alien invaders!

So let's all do our best to avoid sweets as much as possible this year. We can really make a difference in our own health if we can unearth the knowledge and utilize it. This site is very useful for that. (I am still considering the fenugreek and am clutching to the hope of Mona Lisa laser if it comes to that...both thanks to posters on this site).

Wonder how many of us also have a gluton intolerance or celiacs.

I've had bloods done in October  Im allergic to Wheat ,Barley ,Soya ,Harricot beans. Egg whites ,Cows milk etc ,I also had a thyroid done ,which showed up Thyroid Peroxidase antibodies were high .So in all I've got a fair bit going on health wise .Never rains but it pours as saying goes ,I was told I had autoimmune 10 yr ago ,all brought on via a virus .Unbelievable .

I was tested for celiac (at my insistence) and had an endoscopy. Both said I didn't have it. However there is a theory that one can be sensitive to it (not allergic..that's different). Don't think it has been proven. But the more I read about wheat the more I realized just about everything we eat has wheat in it and I think a variety is best. That's why I eat stuff like rice crackers and rice flour as well as ocessional gluten free products...just to mix it up. As the doctor said to me the 1st time I asked, :"if you had celiac disease you would be very ill and you are quite healthy." He was right, but I do have digestive problems and have at least eliminated that possibilty.( Poor Marlene seems to be on her way to some serious dietary resyrictions!) Right now I'm trying probiotics, but I know which ones to take is also controversial. Am going with a drugstore purchase for now. Maybe I should check this site for suggestions!

I guess wheat can make some people quite ill. I also was tested for celiacs,dont think the test is 100 percent acurate though

Beverly ,Im on allergy buddies site ,a friend put me on to it ,get some good tips on tried and tested foods etc Good and bad  as its costly to go through foods only to find you bin it as to its taste ect .Where the best place (shops) to get foods you like .Ive been on Keifer Goats milk ,horrid stuff ,so sour ,but good for gut and allergies .My daughters mother in law is a Celiac ,so I knew I didn't have that, even a grain of wheat your throwing up and never off the loo .My own view it's food GMO that's the cause to all our gut issues like we all seem to be these days .Take my hat off to you with the rice cakes ,tried didn't like .Trial and error with allergies. That's where the buddies site is good .

Don't know if you have Blue Diamond brand there, but they make the most delicious rice crackers I have ever eaten. Almond Nut Thins. Never  heard a person say they weren't really good. Rice cakes are a different story. They are just a vehicle to put things on if you are trying to avoid bread ( but they do have flavored ones). Good with p-nut butter & honey though. I am lactose intolerant (which I believe is caused by lack of appropriate enzymes & can possibly be rectified). Tried drinking goat's milk once with disastrous results. Maybe I can try again with with the dairy aid.  Am willing to try most anything if it means having a normal digestive system. I try to eat sauerkraut, but can't do much of that! I use digestive enzymes or I wouldn't be eating a whole lot of foods. Am hoping the probiotics might do me some good. 

When you say allergic to foods do you mean you have an actual allergic reaction, or is it you can't digest them?

Will look up Blue Diamond  not heard or seen it,here in UK there stocking more allergy foods ,I've got a bread maker. So I can get gluten free flour,and make my own ,it's a bit of a mine field,I get gluten free biscuits ,sauces,so things aren't to bad ,now so any suffer with restrictions .Its the cross contamination ,biggest headache  same goes for Celiacs and those with Crohns but worse if I eat any gluten ,barley  milk etc I can be in loo a lot next day .Doesnt help with having PNE  lot of backside pressure not good for that ,so Im extra cautious .

  The Keifer is a by product of goats milk ,sauerkraut act's same way,both of tasty at best. But got to do what you have to.The Keifer you can buy in any supermarket ,but ifer mine from a goat farm ,I even buy Keifer soap for Ecezema  it's for sensitive skin  see what allergies do .Its made from Raw goats milk and Keifer .

They have milk in cartons at the store with no lactose,even ice cream and cottage cheese.

Yes, that's what I buy if I want to eat dairy.. But I would like to be able to not be totally reliant on those foods that have digestive enzymes added to them. I would like to be able to build up the ability to break down those foods naturally. But that is only half the problem. My digestive system is totally unpredictable. One day I can digest something, next day not. The cramps and bloating are nearly debilitating,,,then gone!  This problem really got worse with menopause. (A lot of things did). Can't help but think there is some hormonal connection.( IBS affects far more women than men.)

Cant imagine all the things the hormones affect. Ive had my share of ibs also..another fun thing.

Marlene those crackers are distibuted out of California. Could be they are in the UK under a different name brand? I'm still not clear on what it means to be allergic to those foods you mentioned as opposed to intolerant (as in you can't digest them). Do you have intestinal reactions, the excema skin rash, both? I see bread making machines in thrift shops all the time and have been tempted to get one.Then I wonder where on earth I would put it. Does the bread come out better than the store bought or is it also dry and crumbly? I used to use goat's milk soap, but now tend to buy the neutral PH soap from the drugstore. May cost a little less. For all the effort we put into these problems I wish we had better luck getting them under control

Supposedly the celiac blood test is 98% accurate. I wonder how they know that. The remaining 2% found out they had it by another means of testing? Or 2% didn't have it though they tested positive?

I have been reading up on probiotics and have essentially gotten no where. Should think after all these years something more definite would be known, instead it's one big grey area. I will continue taking what I got and see if there is any difference al all. So far...none, just my usual unpredictable GI tract. But at least there has been no bad reaction which some people claim to have.