No longer in remission? Or just a bad week?

UPDATE

Looks like I spoke to soon! The very same day that I made the post below I later ate some starchy cashews without reacting noticeably. Since I didn't react I grew braver and had a small amount of popcorn to which I only had a mild reaction. So things aren't quite as bad as I had previously thought, and the remission returns as long as I exercise more control over certain foods - ie. mixtures of fat and starch. 

I should add that over the last four days I had been on quite a strict no starch diet in order to bring the inflammation of Ankylosing spondylitis under control. I had also taken vitamin B3 at doses of 500-900mg as I suspect it is helping my immune system to bring the dysbiosis under control (Niacinamide is known to drastically improve neutrophil efficiency).

So then vitamin B3 and/or cashews are my friends now? Perhaps stick to more moderately starchy foods like cashews and sunflower seeds, and less high starch foods like potato or refined starch as in bread. 

I'm not completely sure yet what to make of all this but I have made some best guesses in this post. 

20141226 

After 20141210 my starch sensitivity would come and go until a few days ago when I ate lots of garlic bread and baked potatoes - after which I had full blown inflammation. 

Looking at this relapse and the previous relapse I blame:

A) mixtures of starch and fat. In the garlic bread the butter was soaked into the bread, and the instant noodles were deep fried in oil. 

B) processed starches, eg. white bread. 

C) eating less red meat, fatty foods for the duration. 

D) eating more starch than my body can handle in one sitting. 

What kept the remission period running? 

My sister (a doctor) said that with remission periods after FMT treatment are normally be temporary, and that it seems to stick if the recipient eats lots of vegetable fibre. So then, I believe the friendly commensal flora needed a lot of vegetable fibre and unprocessed starches, and that this is what kept my remission period running as long as it did. I'm also thinking that keeping the quantity of starch within reasonable limits is important - too much and harmful flora will grow too quickly for the body to control. Too little starch and friendly flora may starve. 

I had begun to notice in the weeks preceding that the smell when I went to the toilet was worse, initially during my remission it would smell nutty and sweet but gradually changed to sour nastier odour. 

Fat & Carbs = Pain

Some personal notes from my phone

-- starch + fat --

With starch the fat has to be well integrated with the fat in order for problems to arise. Just eating the two in the same meal is not enough. 

Examples: donuts, battered fish, KFC, and many snack foods. 

Observations:

***** Iritis. <4 hours

**** tense muscles

**** AS. Worse than normal starch!

-- sucrose + fat --

Examples: chocolate, hot chocolate, protein drinks

Similar reaction to starch+fat except AS is effected a bit less. 

Observations:

***** Iritis

***** Prostatitis

**** Proctitis 

==== Posted on Kickas.org ====

-- sucrose & fat --
I should elaborate a bit - combining sugar and fat also causes the following issues in me: iritis, enthesitis, prostatitis, proctitis, brain fog, fatigue, and reduced coordination.

Honey and fructose are much less of a problem for me when cooked or eaten with fat. I have no great explanation, it is just an observation that has been perfectly reliable for me.

-- starch & fat --
Also starch and fat is much worse than normal starch, but in this case the fat has to be integrated with the starch for it to become an issue, just eating them in the same meal is not enough - for example: deep frying starch.. it still aggravates my AS terribly.

Oil and starch = pain

Notes from my phone:

20141210 Oil and starch = pain

Fried starches cause AS to start up again! These are the worst nemesis for me of all starches. 

Yesterday evening: ate some instant noodles - said to be the best instant noodles of all by "ramen-master", so I thought I should try them. About 2 hours later I started to notice some mild stiffness (my starch reactions have always been very quick), and the stiffness gradually worsened overnight. 

Now, instant noodles are almost always deep fried in oil, presumably as a way of preserving them or improving texture and flavour. And even before starting the NSD many years ago  I had noticed that deep fried starches, such as battered chicken or donuts, were a serious problem for inflammation, including iritis. 

The plan: I'm going to start preparing some home made Natto now. I will eat mostly fruit / NSD, except that I will also eat cultured foods during the healing period, eg. Natto, Jun Scoby, and perhaps Kefir or unpasteurised sauerkraut if I can find it (the mass produced sauerkraut is dead). 

UPDATE - posted on kickas.org


== Here is the timeline ==
Thought I should add more about what happened with the noodles, and give a better timeline (I am on aussie time btw)

Tuesday - around 4pm ate these rubbish instant noodles. Felt yuck and almost nauseous. Inflammation starts up after about 2 hours.

Wednesday - ate lots of fruit, drank green tea with honey, ate natto, and some Jun Scoby. This seems to have helped start the detox, as in the afternoon all this disgusting thick oil came out of the pores on my face. Todays food is very low in fat, so I am certain the oil is from Tuesdays noodles. This oil is not normal at all.. presumably that gunk was clogging up my liver.

Which brings up an important reminder for me: there are multiple instances in the past when my liver had difficulty processing something toxic, eg. a preservative, and that added burden would increase inflammation levels. Yes, the gut is heavily involved, but so is the liver.

Thursday - wake up feeling better despite having eaten starch at dinner, along with Natto and 700mg B3.

What the hell kind of oil is this? It says palm oil on the noodle ingredients, but there is something wrong with it, I reckon it must be hydrogenated. No more instant noodles for me, I am giving the rest away to others who have a stronger digestive system / liver.

Root Causes

DRAFT - this needs editing 

Firstly, degradation of the gut wall by an invasive pathogen. This allows antigens and even whole pathogens entry into the body proper via blood and/or lymph. This is highly provocative to the immune system and this alone is enough to create serious disorder and pathology. The main contenders here that I am aware of are H. Pylori and, of course, fungi such as Candida. 

Secondly, we have Molecular Mimicry. Many pathogens have learned to evade our immune system by imitating specialised receptors on the surface of our human cells. These receptors are what our immune system uses to differentiate the self from the invader, and by copying these structures our immune system is made a fool of and becomes ineffective. The dampening effect here would mainly be handled by T regulator cells. 

But nothing is absolute, and this regulatory system can fail at times. And when it fails the result is a catastrophe.  As when it does recognise the invader, based on other chemical signatures, the immune system may be unable to fully dampen the immune response triggered from the invader. In this scenario parts of the immune system will now see those areas of the body which also resemble the invader as foreign. Now in an attempt to clear the invader the immune system will also attack those parts of the body which carry the same receptor. This is what we call an autoimmune disorder. 

Thirdly I would like to point out some things about our bodies Eco system. There are many adverse environmental factors which are causing harm to our commensal flora - that 'beneficial' flora which is protective towards our continued good health. These environmental factors can be split into two broad categories: those which kill the normal Eco system, and those which inhibit the transfer of beneficial commensal flora to our bodies. Consider the following: antibiotics, food preservatives, antibiotic hand wash, modern sterilisation of all forms, and lastly soil microbial systems have been devastated by modern farming techniques - soil which would in the past have been a natural reservoir for commensal flora, with our food being an intermediary means of transfer to ourselves. 

And them there is stress.. But that is a whole other story (perhaps see my post in May 2015 for something relevant).