Food sensitivity or intolerance as we age

[us271934]

I'm Type II diabetic and control it with diet and exercise. With the limited number of low carb beers available I was so happy to see several of the hard seltzer drinks having a low carb offering. My preferred one was White Claw Surge. I didn't drink it exclusively but with a mix of some of the low carb beers (you know, that variety thing). I began to notice that I seemed to be having first thing in the morning intestinal urgency and mega-gas. With my product development and test lab background I suspected/hoped something in my diet was behind it <pun not really intended ;-)>. I did a bit of googling regarding that category of beverage and found a plethora of issues an assortment of people were having that had already been determined the spiked seltzers were the culprits. Celiacs, IBS sufferers, folks with issues with some of the artificial sweeteners and most interestingly finding out 'natural flavors' could have well known allergens in them but not listed. It was kind of a rabbit hole of information. For example, there's several sources for the alcohol in those drinks and some are not gluten free.
So I cut off the spiked stuff and to make sure it wasn't just the alcohol I bought a bottle of vodka to see if the symptoms continued (quit rolling your eyes!). If they did I would then go total no-alcohol and continue to observe. The intestinal stuff greatly diminished after 2-3 days and I'm still seeing a gradual return of prior gut behavior. Another symptom I was unaware was apparently connected was sinus congestion. My Kleenex consumption is way down and correlated with stopping the spiked seltzers.
Anyway, I guess my point is to advise folks not to give up the detective persona in their efforts to have growing older not be a constantly shrinking menu.

 

[Koolau]

I'm Type II diabetic and control it with diet and exercise. With the limited number of low carb beers available I was so happy to see several of the hard seltzer drinks having a low carb offering. My preferred one was White Claw Surge. I didn't drink it exclusively but with a mix of some of the low carb beers (you know, that variety thing). I began to notice that I seemed to be having first thing in the morning intestinal urgency and mega-gas. With my product development and test lab background I suspected/hoped something in my diet was behind it <pun not really intended ;-)>. I did a bit of googling regarding that category of beverage and found a plethora of issues an assortment of people were having that had already been determined the spiked seltzers were the culprits. Celiacs, IBS sufferers, folks with issues with some of the artificial sweeteners and most interestingly finding out 'natural flavors' could have well known allergens in them but not listed. It was kind of a rabbit hole of information. For example, there's several sources for the alcohol in those drinks and some are not gluten free.
So I cut off the spiked stuff and to make sure it wasn't just the alcohol I bought a bottle of vodka to see if the symptoms continued (quit rolling your eyes!). If they did I would then go total no-alcohol and continue to observe. The intestinal stuff greatly diminished after 2-3 days and I'm still seeing a gradual return of prior gut behavior. Another symptom I was unaware was apparently connected was sinus congestion. My Kleenex consumption is way down and correlated with stopping the spiked seltzers.
Anyway, I guess my point is to advise folks not to give up the detective persona in their efforts to have growing older not be a constantly shrinking menu.

Heh, heh, now what to do with that bottle of vodka??

 

[us271934]

To maintain credibility I'll need to continue the data collection.

 

[surprising]

To maintain credibility I'll need to continue the data collection.

It's always good to have multiple, independent sources of data as well, so I volunteer to participate.. in the name of science.

 

[Sue J]

Time for an update.

It's been a few months and I'm doing so much better!

I'm using the lactase tablets with any dairy, including kefir, yogurt, any cheese and any time milk is listed as an ingredient.

I've also been using a Beano equivalent from Walmart. Equate Gas Relief and Prevention Food Enzyme Dietary Supplement, 100 Count - Walmart.com It has the same active ingredient (alpha-galactosidase enzyme) as Beano and it's 100 caplets for $5.74, much less than the Beano brand.

I'm feeling so much more "normal" and about 90% healed. Occasionally, I have an episode and try to look at what I had eaten to trigger it. Sometimes I can figure it out, sometimes it's just a mystery.

I knew to take it for certain vegetables like beans, broccoli, cabbage, onions and the like. I didn't realize that lettuce was also an issue for me until I read the label (lettuce, carrots, beets). I eat a lot of salad and always put lettuce on a sandwich. So now I take this with just about any vegetable. I have not tried fresh tomatoes but I have had a little cooked tomato sauce and been ok.

I'm not a big milk drinker but I do keep lactose free milk on hand and I also like the lactose free cottage cheese. I haven't found lactose free Half and Half. I tried regular Half and Half in my coffee and even with a lactase tablet that's been a no no. Instead, I now drink black coffee. It took a while to get used to it but I'm fine with it now.

So thanks for all the comments and recommendations. I'm kicking myself for how long I put up with these symptoms before I took any action. I just got used to it and learned to accommodate it.

 

[Koolau]

Thanks for the great update. So glad you're 90% healed! Keep up the progress and keep us posted, please.

 

[audreyh1]

I haven't had luck with the tomatoes. I have an autoimmune disease and certain foods such as grains, nightshades, some dairy, sugars, etc. set off flares. I am going to look into kefir, mentioned above, and at some point crawl into a gastroenterologist (which was recommended by the cardiologist who recently examined me).

Can you describe a flare? I’m trying to understand how symptoms manifest themselves. I have thyroid antibodies (but otherwise normal thyroid numbers) and one doc is convinced it’s food related, but I really don’t experience symptoms so I don’t have any feedback to clue me in. Thanks for any info you are willing to share.

 

[MarieIG]

Can you describe a flair? I’m trying to understand how symptoms manifest themselves. I have thyroid antibodies (but otherwise normal thyroid numbers) and one doc is convinced it’s food related, but I really don’t experience symptoms so I don’t have any feedback to clue me in. Thanks for any info you are willing to share.

Hi Audrey, I think symptoms can manifest themselves differently in different people, depending on their particular weaknesses / conditions. My diagnoses include arthritis and psoriasis. Two of my "flares" are related to my conditions. My joints hurt and become warm and at times swell, and my psoriasis literally becomes visible, i.e. patches erupt on my skin. (Pretty I know.)

If I eat simple carbs (which I very rarely do) I get tingling in my feet within hours. I believe this is related to the nerves. I don't have any diagnosis related to nerve damage, but DF had an autoimmune condition (chronic inflammatory demyelianating polyneuropathy disease) which initially manifested with tingling in his feet and progressed to the loss of the ability to move his lower limbs - so I'm not a fan of tingling in my feet and prefer to avoid it.

Symptoms related to thyroid issues may be completely different, and if your numbers are otherwise normal, you may indeed have no symptoms. From what I have read from your posts, your diet is for the most part very good, hence the lack of symptoms, although some type of food your body does not like may be sneaking in - in small amounts. Too small to cause visible issues, but enough to tick off your immune system. Did your doctor mention Hashimto's or Grave's Disease? If your doctor thinks your issue is food related, consider doing some investigation on "intestinal permeability" or "leaky gut." It is also possible that you may have some food sensitivities, which unlike a severe allergy may not have a more immediate reaction, but manifest on more of a sub-clinical level. I am not saying that your condition will progress - but - I would follow-up with your doctor regarding his opinion on an autoimmune protocol diet and any diagnostic testing that he can order to help identify the root cause of the antibodies, and/ or to monitor the efficacy of an autoimmune protocol diet, so that you can nip this in the bud prior to the condition progressing.

 

[audreyh1]

^^^ Thanks much! Those are indeed quite specific symptoms and very noticeable. Keeping a food and symptoms diary would have a good chance of identifying the main culprits. I haven’t experienced anything definite like that.

I did go through a sensitivity testing and a resulting elimination diet almost a decade ago and that did not clarify anything at all! No marked reduction in thyroid antibodies (Hashimoto’s). The elimination diet did force us to stop eating out which in itself was a good thing, and the habit of eating only home cooked food when not traveling has persisted.

And over five years ago I switched to low carb (well-formed ketogenic) diet which also is by nature a very low inflammation diet. It did wonders for my health overall, but it did not bring my thyroid antibodies down any lower than the prior range even though overall they’ve been at their lowest end.

I guess the only good news is that over 10 years my thyroid antibodies have not gotten worse and are currently at their lowest over the time period. Even at one time the doctor admitted my antibody numbers were relatively mild though unfortunately they are still attacking the thyroid. Other than continuing to pay attention I’m done chasing this rabbit.

 

[Koolau]

^^^ Thanks much! Those are indeed quite specific symptoms and very noticeable. Keeping a food and symptoms diary would have a good chance of identifying the main culprits. I haven’t experienced anything definite like that.

I did go through a sensitivity testing and a resulting elimination diet almost a decade ago and that did not clarify anything at all! No marked reduction in thyroid antibodies (Hashimoto’s). The elimination diet did force us to stop eating out which in itself was a good thing, and the habit of eating only home cooked food when not traveling has persisted.

And over five years ago I switched to low carb (well-formed ketogenic) diet which also is by nature a very low inflammation diet. It did wonders for my health overall, but it did not bring my thyroid antibodies down any lower than the prior range even though overall they’ve been at their lowest end.

I guess the only good news is that over 10 years my thyroid antibodies have not gotten worse and are currently at their lowest over the time period. Even at one time the doctor admitted my antibody numbers were relatively mild though unfortunately they are still attacking the thyroid. Other than continuing to pay attention I’m done chasing this rabbit.

Hmmmm. My thyroid antibodies have no thyroid to attack since my cancerous thyroid was removed - yet my numbers are still very high. I still have Hashimoto's without a thyroid. Just "lucky" I guess.

 

[easysurfer]

Noticed lactose intolerance starting around mid to late forties. One day went to a Dairy Queen for a banana split and then felt the agony. I avoid getting dairy when possible. When not possible (have to get pizza with real cheese now and then) those Lactaid (brand name) type tablets do help.

 

[FindingForward]

Hi Audrey, I think symptoms can manifest themselves differently in different people, depending on their particular weaknesses / conditions. My diagnoses include arthritis and psoriasis. Two of my "flares" are related to my conditions. My joints hurt and become warm and at times swell, and my psoriasis literally becomes visible, i.e. patches erupt on my skin. (Pretty I know.)

If I eat simple carbs (which I very rarely do) I get tingling in my feet within hours. I believe this is related to the nerves. I don't have any diagnosis related to nerve damage, but DF had an autoimmune condition (chronic inflammatory demyelianating polyneuropathy disease) which initially manifested with tingling in his feet and progressed to the loss of the ability to move his lower limbs - so I'm not a fan of tingling in my feet and prefer to avoid it.

Symptoms related to thyroid issues may be completely different, and if your numbers are otherwise normal, you may indeed have no symptoms. From what I have read from your posts, your diet is for the most part very good, hence the lack of symptoms, although some type of food your body does not like may be sneaking in - in small amounts. Too small to cause visible issues, but enough to tick off your immune system. Did your doctor mention Hashimto's or Grave's Disease? If your doctor thinks your issue is food related, consider doing some investigation on "intestinal permeability" or "leaky gut." It is also possible that you may have some food sensitivities, which unlike a severe allergy may not have a more immediate reaction, but manifest on more of a sub-clinical level. I am not saying that your condition will progress - but - I would follow-up with your doctor regarding his opinion on an autoimmune protocol diet and any diagnostic testing that he can order to help identify the root cause of the antibodies, and/ or to monitor the efficacy of an autoimmune protocol diet, so that you can nip this in the bud prior to the condition progressing.

Anyone experiencing chronic symptoms (gastro or non gastro) may want to ask their doc to test for Celiac Disease (CD), just to rule it out.

You can ask for a Celiac Panel (simple blood test) to be added to your next scheduled lab work.

So many docs miss CD because they only test if presented w/specific gastro symptoms. But CD is connected to 300+ symptoms like migraines, osteoporosis, thyroid issues, anemia, psoriasis, arthritis, rashes, neuropathy, fatigue, dental issues, miscarriages - and many more.

People have gone undiagnosed for decades. Some take meds long term to manage a condition or recurring symptoms, never realizing they have an auto-immune disease driving it all.