Friday 26 December 2014

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. 

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