Iodine Testing : Examples

Rice

Above is cooked basmati rice. Below is the reaction after adding several drops of iodine. 

Glutinous Rice Flour

Above is glutinous rice flour mixed with water. Below is the same after adding several drops of iodine tincture. 

The mixture actually turns a brown colour and not the inky blue black colour that normal rice will turn (amylose). This brown colour is not actually the colour of iodine, rather this is the colour of amylopectin reacting with iodine. Glutinous rice is very unusual for a grain in that it contains no amylose at all, and instead stores carbohydrates as amylopectin. 

Curry Powder

Here is some curry powder above mixed with water only. Below is the reaction when mixed with two drops of iodine. 

The reaction was mild, not an inky blue black reaction, and so I'm not worried about it. This looks like it has some amylopectin (safe) and no significant amylose (unsafe). 

Custard apple for Prostate & Proctitis?

It is far too early to make a call on this but it looks promising. Here are my notes so far. 

Log: Custard Apple

Key: soursop

-- Observation summary --

* small brief sharp pain in prostate area

* custard apple is known to kill prostate cancer cells in the lab

20140530 Custard Apple ***

Pretty sure custard apple clearer my Proctitis. I should have reacted to the sticky rice, the sugar in the Korean sauce and also for having sweet food after dinner. 

Dinner: Custard apple (desert, lots of it). Sticky rice. Green curry fish w green beans. Pork belly w Korean BBQ sauce (ask Dave for brand). Chinese greens w ginger. 

20140521 & 23 Prostate

Twice I had some custard apple and noticed some small sharp pains in prostate region. They were brief and transient. Rather than being bad for the prostate, I'm going to run with the theory that this is a type of "healing crisis" reaction. Reason: lab tests show custard apple kills prostate cancer. Also, prostate health was very good after the pains went away, and this is unusual. 

Amylopectin, NSD and Dental Health

I find my teeth are stronger on the NSD. One thing I keep forgetting to mention - glutinous rice gives me energy and endurance, but it is as bad for the teeth as any other starch. A small cavity that had pretty much healed over whilst on the NSD had reappeared and with it a small amount of tooth pain occasionally occurred. I now am much more selective about when and how I eat my glutinous rice, and it has since started to calm down again.

Coconut Jelly Recipe

This recipe is copied from the Encyclopedia of Asian Food. I have made some minor alterations for clarity, and also many of you will want to swap sucrose for something else. 

Photo from http://asiasociety.org/

A favorite in Burma, where it is called kyauk kyaw (pronounced chow chaw), Burmese for agar-agar, or any jelly made from it.Serves 8.

Ingredients

7g agar-agar strands (or 4 teaspoons agar-agar powder)
400 ml can coconut milk
375ml water (1 and 1/2 cups)
125ml (1/2 cup) canned coconut cream
125g (1/2 cup) sugar, rose water to flavour - I use fructose or honey instead

Directions
Soak the strands of agar-agar in cold water overnight or at least 1 hour. Drain and measure. There should be 1 and 1/2 cups, loosely packed.
Put the strands with coconut milk and water into a saucepan and stir constantly while bringing to the boil. Add sugar and keep stirring and simmering 10-15 minutes or until all the strands are completely dissolved.

If using agar-agar powder, sprinkle over the coconut milk, add sugar and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the coconut cream.

Flavour to taste, then pour into a dish rinsed out with cold water and allow to set. Cut into diamond shapes or squares. This firm jelly is meant to be picked up with the fingers.

Recipe excerpted from the Encyclopedia of Asian Food by Charmaine Solomon (Periplus Editions, 1998)

Easy Indian - NSD Safe

Yay I found some Indian food at Coles that is safe :-D

The first one is Chicken Tikka. This one is a bit pricy, but still much cheaper than eating out. And you won't have to worry about unknown starchy additives. 

This is the second one. All the other Pataks bottles had starchy additives except this one. Make sure you read the label on the back as you will need to buy several other ingredients, ie. meat, canned tomato, minced ginger and some garlic. 

Prawn Masala (NSD, Paleo)

Ingredients:

Half a kilo prawns (shelled)

600-700g Eggplant 

1 can whole peeled tomato (400g)

1 onion, medium size, cut 

1-2 cloves garlic, cut finely

Masala spice powder to taste

2 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

Fry turmeric, onion and garlic in plenty of coconut oil. 

When onions are cooked add masala powder, eggplant, and tomato. Mash the tomato with your spatula. 

Cook until eggplant is very soft then add prawns last, as these cook quickly. 

Pancakes without the pain !

-- Benefits --

* less fatigue 

* weight gain - was far too skinny

* less stiffness

* possibly improved amylose tolerance
* easier to cook than the other non-starch recipes - the other ones I've tried would fall apart when I flip them, or burn before they even cook through, or be too dry.

Problem: don't overdo it or candida could be an issue. These days I cook this mainly when I know I will need to do a fair amount of physical work, such as moving house.

-- top rated recipe (modified) --

Serves : 2-3 people 

This makes great pancakes. Possibly even better than the usual wheat based ones.. And no pain! =)

1 cup glutinous rice flour

1 egg (can double)

3/4 cup water (or milk if safe 4 u)

2 tbsp butter / coconut oil melted

1-2 tbsp fructose / honey 

Half tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda, half tsp cream of tartar (original recipe doubles this)

* Beat eggs until fluffy (can skip)

* mix everything, add milk gradually 

* Leaving the batter to sit for 10-20 mins may give fluffier pancakes

* Pan is hot enough when a drop of water dances on surface 

* When bubbles start to break it is ready to turn and cook the other side

http://www.food.com/recipe/pancakes-25690

-- my own quick & easy recipe --

7 heaped tsp glutinous rice flour

1 egg

Add water slowly whilst mixing 

Optional: Salt & honey to taste

Optional: Butter/Coconut Oil/Banana

Mouth Ulcers Gone :-D (AKA Canker Sores)

I used to have a lot of trouble with mouth ulcers (you guys probably call them 'canker sores'), this was an ongoing issue for 10 years or more. Anytime I bit my lip or cheek, or even just a minor abrasion to the lining of my mouth, and I would be guaranteed to get a mouth ulcer. Tried the usual antibacterial type remedies such as topical peroxide, iodine, bicarb, salt, rinsing with alcohol. That stuff didn't work for me though.

In the end my ulcers turned out to be caused by a virus (maybe a strain of HSV), and a potent anti viral called BHT worked for me - from what I read it only works for lipid-coated viruses (fortunately the majority of viruses are lipid coated!). I took about 500mg of BHT twice a day and that fixed it. And by fixed I mean I'm practically cured, as I don't need to take a maintenance dose of BHT to keep the ulcers away. 500mg worked, but maybe 250mg would be fine too, but I know that taking 1000mg in one dose was too much for me to handle as I would get some pains in my tummy (possibly liver struggling to metabolise it).. that only lasted an hour or so.



-- Update :: I posted the following on EarthClinic.com --

BHT is what worked for me. I tried the usual antibacterial modes (iodine, salt, baking soda) and nothing would help one little bit. Any time my mouth had a little scratch it would inevitably result in a mouth ulcer that would take weeks to heal (you guys call them 'canker sores').

I eventually tried BHT thinking it might help some other immune problems (I have an inflammatory autoimmune disease). Well, only one thing changed noticeably - no more mouth ulcers. Ever since trying BHT I have been clear of this issue, and it has been a stark change. Now if I bite my lip there is no problem, yet before I would be absolutely guaranteed to have a very nasty canker sore.

Now I can't guarantee this will help anyone else, I never expected that my mouth ulcers could be caused by a virus!! (ehh sorry I mean 'canker sores) But there you go.. learned something new. I suspect the majority of folk are still caused by bacteria, but hey if iodine, ACV, baking soda and salt don't help then maybe you should try this!

You can read more about BHT here: http://www.projectwellbeing.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/BHTbook-StevenWmFowkes-100903.pdf

Most important - make sure it is food grade.

Amylopectin and sticky rice

Sticky rice - well firstly it is obviously sticky :) Also called "glutinous rice", although it doesn't contain any of what we call "gluten", and Gluten intolerant people can eat this rice too of course.

It is noticeably different from normal rice. The grains really stock to each other like glue and its great for desserts. If you can find some Thai sticky rice at an Asian grocer I would recommend that, as so far that has been the best quality. 

Give it a try :) I buy the glutinous rice flour and make some pretty nice pancakes out of it. Way safer than normal rice. 

-- Don't overdo it --

Start small and work up so that your body can acclimatise to all the carbs in sticky rice. If you've been on the NSD for a while, then your body won't be used to so many carbs. I overdid it and had rampant candida .. I was making lots of pancakes using glutinous rice flour and eating that with honey.

-- But it has Gluten, doesn't it? --

Sticky rice definitely doesn't have any of the gluten found in wheat. The "Glutinous" part of the name refers to its stickiness, and that is the result of the high amylopectin content. Your body of course is the ultimate determinant. And more besides, on the NSD we are not "no gluten" (which is a protein), rather we are "no starch".

You can check here, truly it doesn't contain gluten:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutinous_rice
http://www.celiac.com/articles/181/1/Safe-Gluten-Free-Food-List-Safe-Ingredients/Page1.html

-- Update May 2014 --

Lately I have been noticing that when I haven't had glutinous rice for a while I have some very small brief stiffness if I really overdo it. For some reason my body does seem to be able to adapt to it fairly quickly. Once I am used to it again I actually seem to have less stiffness than usual? Well, definitely a whole heap more energy. The only reason I am really avoiding it at the moment is my concern about Candida / Fungal issues.

-- Related : --

Thread: Glutinous Rice
http://www.kickas.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=500828

Freakin' fungus is causing disease

I just went through some of my personal logs and realised three health problems were all linked. They were all worsened by the same things (eg. sucrose, chocolate) and all improved by the same things (eg. high dose Lufenuron, or bicarb flush). Dammit, why did it take so long for me to work this out. Reminds me of the story of the hair and the tortoise - slow and steady wins the race. I get to the solution through sheer stubborn perseverance.

The three linked health issues which I've been battling for years are:

* Fungal infections of the skin - jock itch mainly. Also used to have dandruff which I would control by using Ketoconazole shampoo, but it cleared completely on the No Starch Diet

* Proctitis, or Pruritis.. Latin for "itchy bum" (or more literally "inflamed bum"). 

* Prostatis (inflamed prostate) - painful urination, urge to pee, and throbbing pain exactly where the prostate is

-- all three are worsened by: --

**** Chocolate - sugar & fat

**** Sucrose - particularly after eating any form of land animal fat (butter, meat, etc). Fish oils and vegetable oils both seem to be neutral. 

-- all three are improved by: --

*** Lufenuron - at high dose. I need to take about 2.8g per day and all 3 symptoms clear up. Lufenuron works by destroying the chitin armour that fungus require to survive. 

*** Water flush & bicarb. Such a simple solution..  cheap, harmless & unassuming, yet so effective. I do this first thing in the morning upon waking: Do not eat anything. Take half a teaspoon (or one small teaspoon) of baking soda and dissolve in two glasses of water. Drink this all at once. If you are hungry or have eaten it won't work as it will then react with stomach acid to form salt and carbon dioxide. 

---

-- Update April 2014 --

* I'm thinking sinusitis / rhinitis needs to be added here..? This responds to Lufenuron too, so I think it must be fungal also. 

---

-- Update May 2014 ---------------------
[posted here: http://www.kickas.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=503203 ]

Still battling with fungi myself (Candida, etc). Have been using Lufenuron, but am keen to find something cheaper that is as effective. The number of inflammatory problems that improve greatly when I take Lufenuron is fascinating to me: Prostatitis, Sinusitis/Rhinitis, Proctitis, as well as dehydration at night, and of course the usual yeast infections of the skin. 

..Fascinating to me because of the questions that necessarily arise: how many other immune & inflammatory diseases are caused by fungi ?!? And what exactly is it that fungus does which causes this. The standard explanation would be leaky guts, but I am getting less and less convinced by this after trying Lufenuron. I actually think that certain fungus may have learnt to manipulate our immune systems and make them hyper-reactive to bacteria, and this in order that the immune system would spend less time attacking fungus.

Here is a very weird observation: 
After attacking fungi with Lufenuron I *seem* to have less of an AS type reaction to starch and more of an asthmatic type reaction. Super weird, and not sure what to make of it.

-- Lufenuron --
This compound works by inhibiting synthesis of chitin in the cell wall of fungi. Fungi need chitin to survive, without their chitin to defend their cell wall they bleed out. There is no doubt in my mind that pathogenic fungi have worked out very clever ways to evade our immune systems. That is how fungi are known to operate. Chitin is not used by our bodies, so it is safe to destroy it. OK here is the scary part - chitin is also the exoskeleton of insects, and hence Lufenuron is also a very good pesticide. 

I'm not telling you guys to use Lufenuron, but I do want those of us who suffer with fungal infections to know that this is out there - for educational purposes lets say. And there are other options to be sure, it is just that I know this one and feel I have to report what I have seen. That simple carb restriction only makes the fungus a bit more dormant, in some cases that will be enough to tip the balance in our immune systems favour but not always. Fungi like Candida are still fairly happy to munch away on our body tissue when a ready supply of sugar isn't available..

-- Other more natural options --
Other more natural compounds to try are: Ellagic acid (raspberries are a great source, other berries are good too), and Polygodial (found in: Horopito, Tasmanian pepper/mountain pepper/Cornish pepper leaf, Paracress and Water-pepper)

-- update : ACV --
I know that Apple Cider Vinegar helps with a wide range of health problems (have a look on earthclinic.com), and I have used it successfully with prostatitis and rhinitis/sinusitis. People seem to think it has some alkalising ability, but I am thinking maybe it has compounds that are powerful at killing off rival fungi and yeast much like penicillin does.

What helps: Iritis, Uveitis, Enthesitis (pain in eyes, knees, hands and feet)

Whilst the NSD worked well for curing my iritis, I also had to stay away from mixtures of dairy and refined sucrose.

Here is a letter I wrote to a lady who was suffering from Iritis, I am sharing it here in case it helps someone:

I have suffered from Iritis in the past, in me this had occurred alongside another autoimmune disorder called Ankylosing Spondylitis. There are two things that worked for my iritis:

1. An antioxidant plant extract called Rutin
2. A diet called the No Starch Diet

- 1. Rutin -
This antioxidant worked quite well for me at a dosage of around 300mg twice a day. Usually with these things I would start with a smaller dose, watch for undesirable effects and gradually increase the dose. I'm uncertain as to whether this has worked well for others - have had practically no feedback. This supplement is not to be used during pregnancy. There is the potential of some immune suppression and I believed that a chest infection only cleared after stopping Rutin. But that would have been after many months of use, so short term use should be fine. For more details on safety, etc see here:
http://www.kickas.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=90568&page=1

- 2. No Starch Diet (NSD) -
This worked best for me. I have been following this diet for years out of absolute necessity as it has brought my Ankylosing Spondylitis well and truly under control AND as a bonus my iritis stopped altogether whilst on the diet. I also had to give up dairy, except butter and yoghurt are OK. Foods that mix sugar with dairy also caused trouble for my iritis, so watch out for that (protein shakes, caramels, custards, hot chocolate, etc). I have since learnt via observation that I do not tolerate sucrose (table sugar) very well but that I do tolerate glucose and fructose well, eg honey and butter is safe for me, whereas sugar and butter is not (your body may be different so just be on the lookout). I no longer need to take Rutin after starting the No Starch Diet. It is a difficult diet to start with and you really need to listen to your body a lot and observe how foods effect it. Paleo Diet is similar and you may find it easier to start there when looking for recipes (and perhaps skip the sweet potato and yam).

Here are my personal notes, with a few updates and edited for clarity. This is from many years ago when I still suffered from iritis (before No Starch Diet):

--= Helpful =--

**** Rutin. This is a plant derived antioxidant. It also cleared some mild inflammation I was getting in my hands, knees and foot too. I think it also cures my reflux? If you are pregnant or have chest infections then don't take this.
*** Oral prednisolone. In my case this works *much* better than prednisolone eye drops.
** No Starch Diet

--= Safe =--
* yoghurt
* rice
* corn ? (I think this is safe)

--= Detrimental =--

---- sugar mixed with butter / dairy fat / coconut. eg: Hot chocolate, flan, creme brûlée, chocolate, caramel, ice cream, etc. A bigger problem when it is hot or liquid. So the worst reactions are things like hot chocolate, hot caramel, hot chocolate syrup. Give it a test one day and see if you react to one of these.

--- wheat. Perhaps other grains are a problem too?. Wheat is really bad when deep fried or fluffy eg: donuts, tempura, battered fish, sponge cake, etc.

--- echinacea

- banana. This suggests that Inulin or FOS are a problem for iritis.
- oats. Only a mild problem, have to eat quite a lot of oats for a reaction.
- milk.


== Key: ==
* = safe
** = helpful
*** = very helpful
- = detrimental
--- = very detrimental

Reflux gone

Reflux runs in my family, both in my most immediate family and also I know at least one uncle has had issues too. Recently after taking Rutin (500mg twice a day) I had some small and brief sharp pain in my stomach, ever since then the reflux has been gone. This is something I have had for years! It is very nice to finally be rid of it!

I was taking Lufenuron (as a chitin inhibitor to destroy fungus) at the same time so there is a small chance that maybe that could have done it, but I'm about 80-90% sure that it was the Rutin that fixed me up due to the timing, and also the tummy pains that coincided with using Rutin and the end of the daily reflux symptoms.

Note that I don't need to keep taking Rutin (or Lufenuron) regularly as the pathogen living in my stomach, and causing reflux, is now gone. In other words it was a proper cure. I expect my reflux to eventually return, but I will now know how to get rid of it next time :-)

-- helpful --
***** Rutin (or possibly Lufenuron). Rutin must not be taken when pregnant.
**** Licorice root tea with meals. Worked quite nicely.
*** ACV. Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 x tbsp 2x daily with juice.
??? Spinach seems to help

-- bad --
*** Chocolate
*** Animal fats, including butter and dairy (except yoghurt)

Itchy bum :: Pruritis / Proctitis

Too much sugar or carbs can give me proctitis (itchy anus) :-/ Its been a real pain in the bum for a long long time. I'm very interested in the report on kickas that the drug sulfasalazine may help prevent this!!

Tried going to a specialist - good to know I don't have any overtly obvious serious disease causing the symptoms such as Ulcerative Colitis or IBD, especially given that these are associated with AS and could cause similar symptoms. Was otherwise useless in terms of finding root causes or decent effective treatments.

==== my observations ====

-- helpful --
????? ACV - I suspect ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) helps with proctitis. Use 2tbsp mixed with water. I need to rinse my mouth with mouthwash before hand though as the acidity hurts my teeth even when diluted. Aldi brand mouth wash works fine.
***** Prescript Assist (oral). I need to take at least 3 of these to prevent proctitis. This is a brand of probiotic.
***** Turmeric (oral). I have been making my own turmeric pills with the raw spice, I need to take about 5 or so of them but it works nicely.
***** Alkaline drink. This works best. Mix half a teaspoon per cup of water and drink on an empty tummy, when not hungry (acid in stomach would react to bicarb and render it ineffective). First thing in the morning is ideal.

***** Polygodial (Mountain Pepper, Horopito, etc). Clears in 30-60min. One possible problem is fungus might become resistant. Gives me a bit of a headache. 

***** Clean thoroughly - cleanse area thoroughly with water and soap free wash. Do this in shower after going to toilet. Effective and rapid relief. Symptom management only, and doesn't address root cause. 

**** Water flush. drink 2 cups of plain water on an empty tummy. First thing in the morning is an ideal time.
*** Castor oil topical. Not preventative unfortunately
**** Hot bath
*** Fruit fast works. Not a long term solution, but could be a good clue.
** Avoiding fat seems to help
** Curash topical
** Eating sweet foods first or on an empty tummy is helpful
???? Strong curry - Garlic / onion / turmeric / ginger paste
???? Spinach seems to help
???? Miso seems to help
????? bicarb water on empty tummy
????? Lufenuron (chitin inhibitor) seemed to help markedly, which pointed to fungal infection as probably cause. I'm trying Lufenuron again and will get a clearer idea this time I hope.

-- Harmful --
**** Chocolate - sugar & fat
**** Sucrose
**** Alcohol
**** Rice (including glutinous rice unfortunately). I found that glutinous rice was safe when combined with egg to make pancakes - strange eh.
*** Banana
*** Fatty/oily foods followed by / or mixed with sweet foods within 3 hours. Mammal fat seems to be an issue here.
* MMS seems to have temporarily worsened this by destroying flora / reducing competition and thus encouraging weed organisms / pathogens

I will try to keep this updated, originally this was posted by me here on kickas :
http://www.kickas.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=501480


-- Key --
***** Very helpful / harmful
** moderately helpful / harmful
?? Something to look into. I may have seen some evidence that this helps.

Recipes & Resources

<< This page has moved here. Will leave this old post here though as it has comments >>

Info for getting started on the diet

• Kickas - No Starch Diet subforum - this is the best place to ask questions for newbies http://www.kickas.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=7&page=1
• This is my food list showing what foods I can eat, and which I cannot eat - https://sites.google.com/site/cureankylosingspondylitis/no-starch-diet---food-list
• The starch content of foods:
  http://www.kickas.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=143543

• AS Food Guide:
  http://www.kickas.org/asfood.shtml
• Recipes and important links (NSD Forum):
  http://www.kickas.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=19382
• NSD QuickStart and tips (NSD Forum):
  http://www.kickas.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=101430
• Spondy Monster - very nicely made intro to the NSD http://www.spondymonster.com
• Diet-Specific Recipes forum: http://www.kickas.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=20&page=1
• Food list for Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), a similar diet to the NSD: http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/legal/legal_illegal_a-c.htm - I have noted some interesting differences. For instance their food list allows peas, peanuts, lentils/beans - all of which are not ok with me (others on the NSD also find these unsafe). Meanwhile it bans some things which I find to be ok such as aloe, noni, seaweed, stevia, tofu, tomato puree.

Recipes

• Betty Rawker
  http://pacificwanderlust.com
  http://bettyrawker.com
  http://pureandsimplerecipes.com
  http://straightupdiet.com
• Oh She Glows!
  Lots of gorgeous recipe ideas. Some will need a little modification.. http://ohsheglows.com/2014/02/10/top-13-vegan-desserts-of-2013/
• Recipes and important links (NSD Forum): http://www.kickas.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=19382
• The coconut mama
  http://thecoconutmama.com
• Recipes & research - Mrs Ed
  http://mrsedsresearchandrecipes.blogspot.com.au/
• Here are some recipes on my other website that you might find handy: https://sites.google.com/site/cureankylosingspondylitis/recipes

Books & Compilations

• The IBS Low-Starch Diet by Carol Sinclair.
  I have a copy of this book and it is a very good introduction with lots of good recipes
  http://www.amazon.com/The-Low-Starch-Diet-Carol-Sinclair/dp/0091912865
• Paleo Diet - this is kinda similar to the NSD (with some exceptions, eg. we can't eat sweet potato). Many of the recipes will be similar. Big recipe index here http://paleofood.com/
• About the Paleolithic Diet: http://paleodiet.com/definition.htm

Water Flush

These are the notes on my phone regarding the use of what I call a "water flush". 

-- observations --

**** muscles relaxed - 20-30 mins

**** tension gone - 20-30 mins

**** anal itch gone - 30-50 mins

**** dehydration of nose eyes mouth & skin (and associated fatigue) all gone 20-50 mins

**** Profound feeling of ease and well being. Reminds me of when I fasted once. Such a nice happy feeling - it is like being released from a cage. 

-- procedure --

On an empty tummy drink 2 or 3 cups of plain water. The best time to do this is first thing in the morning. 

Possible remission? - Not reacting as much to starch??

Here are the notes I made on my phone regarding the *possible* remission I've been experiencing. I'm just making a note of it in case it proves useful later : 

-- 20140215-17 --

Sometime around Friday or Saturday I started to notice I hadn't been reacting to restaurant food for quite a while. So I tried a small piece of a potato chip on Saturday at lunchtime... No reaction. I very often have trouble with restaurant food since the ingredients are out of my control. Now, when I talk of a remission in symptoms I am only talking here about inflammation from Ankylosing spondylitis, and this inflammation comes back in force whenever I eat even a small amount of starch. 

Sunday night I was with friends and decided to try something more dangerous - some glutinous rice dumplings that also contained the added amylose starch which I react to. I ate four of them, and I definitely should have reacted. I had a modest increase in stiffness. It wasn't really painful just a tad stiff, and the next morning I was fine again! No pain in my back, ribs, hips or neck. Perhaps some minor skin issues (but maybe that was from chocolate / dairy). This is unheard of for me. I should have been in quite significant pain for at least 3 days. 

What's changed? What helped? :

1. Lots of Massaman curry - almost daily (most likely what helped)

2. Lufenuron treatment (9grams, split over several days)

3. Lots of fresh air (very unlikely)

Massaman curry

Why? Well I had noticed in late December 2013 after eating some curry at the local Indian restaurant (Mantra) that I didn't suffer from the usual dehydration .. dry mouth, eyes, nose and skin that plague me most nights. This problem also causes me significant fatigue, and it has troubled me on and off for many many years. 

Now I tried making my own Thai curry and found that it worked equally well (that was in early Jan 2014). I was of course using my new friend - Massaman curry paste. I would eat it and on the very same night the dehydration would go away. The following night if I ate with friends and didn't eat this curry my symptoms would return very noticeably. The following day I would resume eating this and the symptoms would go away again. This would occur again and again over the coming weeks with a pattern that was absolutely reliable. 

So since this curry definitely helped one immune related symptom, I think it likely that it healed the root cause of several health problems, and that likely cause is: leaky gut syndrome. 

Ingredients of curry paste:

The ingredients are: chilli, lemongrass, garlic, shallot, salt, galangal, fish paste, coriander seed, cumin, kaffir lime peel, mace, cardamom, cinnamon

I would put my money on the spices that I don't use frequently: coriander seed, cumin, kaffir lime peel, mace, cardamom, or galangal

Update 1:

Oh one more thing - I usually made the curry in my pressure cooker with bones, carrots, onions, pumpkin .. And quite a bit of curry paste

Lufenuron 

I started taking this on 6 Feb 2014 in order to rid myself of a recurring fungal infection. These fungi such as candida have a chitin cell wall which hides them from our immune system and protects them from antibiotics (antibiotics attack cell membranes but these are well protected within the cell wall). 

When candida is in the fungal form it is invasive and can destroy tissue in its path, growing in strands of mycelium & hyphae. When this happens in the gut the lining of the intestine is compromised and allows microbes in to the bloodstream, and when this happens then the immune system becomes destabilised. This is what is called "leaky gut syndrome" and Fungi are one possible cause. 

Other similar blogs

• Paul
  http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2014/01/curing-ankylosing-spondylitis/
• Brian
  http://100percenthealth.us/6-months-to-year-1/rice-vs-potatoes-starch-comparison/
• Fernpixel :
  http://fernpixel.blogspot.com.au/
  http://www.youtube.com/user/fernpixel
• Recipes & research
  http://mrsedsresearchandrecipes.blogspot.com.au/
• Sarah Wilson had Hashimoto's
  http://www.sarahwilson.com.au/
• "Raw Mormon Mum" had Lichen Sclerosis 
  rawmormonmommy.blogspot.com
•  "Story of Starch"
  http://storyofstarch.net

Yummy Almond Porridge (Paleo, NSD)

I made a really nice starch free porridge today! Nice and thick. I miss the simplicity, ease and convenience of a simple bowl of porridge, and this will surely be a standard breakfast from now on ^_^

Lately I have been bringing the dry ingredients to work, and just adding some hot water and honey. It's a really handy and quick meal, cheap, and gives me long lasting energy.

Ingredients:

Half cup almond meal

1 and half teaspoon of coconut flour 

Half teaspoon cinnamon 

3-4 tablespoons coconut oil

2/3 cup water

Method:

Mix the dry ingredients first so as to avoid lumps. Now add oil and water to a pot and simmer on stove or heat in microwave for about a minute until thick. If it gets too thick add a little water. 

Now serve with some honey on top and perhaps a little butter :)

This is the second time I made it and I got the thickness right this time. If it is too runny it should be fine to just add some more coconut flour - just be careful not to let it clump up. 

Things to try:

More cinnamon - half a small teaspoon adds a nice aroma

Glutinous rice flour - for extra energy / endurance / less fatigue. 1 tsp is good

Molasses - third to half a tsp is enough for a yummy flavour, anymore and it's too strong
Almond butter
Almond milk
Coconut milk

How to improve food tolerance

By slowly introducing the problem food
I have experienced a markedly improved tolerance to Inulin / FOS in garlic and onion by starting with just a tiny tiny bit. If you react noticeably give the body a little time to heal and then halve the amount next time. If you don't react then double it next time - tomorrow perhaps. Keep doing this regularly until the food intolerance improves. Fingers crossed !

There is an interesting video on this method here. And here is another similar video:

 

It makes me laugh that anyone would think this was something new when mothers have been doing this with their infants for thousands of years. However the concern with peanut allergies (and some other allergies) is that the reaction is so deadly you would want to only do this in a hospital. The idea of course is to start with a minuscule amount that causes no trouble and build tolerance from there.

Probiotic complex
10 strains or more, eg: "Soil Based Organism" (SBO) Probiotic blends. My tolerance of dairy *seemed* to improve afterwards. I can't say with 100% certainty, but this is the only obvious cause for my now being able to tolerate milk much much better. When I say tolerate I mean that my Ankylosing Spondylitis symptoms don't worsen in the way they did before. I am however concerned I may still have inflammation that dairy may worsen (eg. Prostate trouble, and Sjorgren's syndrome like symptoms).

Yoghurt & cultured foods
Sugar is well tolerated in Lassi's and Yoghurt drinks. Perhaps we can use this to improve sucrose tolerance, and perhaps also try adding milk, sugar, rice flour and try to build tolerance to them that way.

Vegetable gums?
I find that sucrose is somewhat better tolerated with the vegetable gums often found in sorbet. As with Yoghurt this could perhaps be a useful way to build tolerance.

Alternatives to using diet for autoimmune disorders

If the No Starch Diet doesn't work for you I would recommend looking into the following:

• Low starch diet / Paleo diet / SCD
• Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN). Lots of people find it useful for immune disorders (and even cancer?!)
• Fecal Transplant - as disgusting as it may sound but people are saying it works quite well.
• helminthes parasite - another treatment that will get up peoples noses. This parasite, when living in your gut, has the strange ability to cure many autoimmune disorders! This document asks the question: is "endemic" helminthes infection why the developing world has a lower rate of autoimmune disease?
• Search earthclinic.com for alternative therapies for arthritis and other similar immune disorder 
• Antibiotic therapy - roadback.org. My concern with this is some people seemed to be more starch sensitive after trying this. No wonder since there is a reduction in competition & friendly flora after taking any antibiotic. Which leads to..
• Probioic complexes. My recommendation is to take probiotics from two manufacturers with as many different strains as you can find. Currently these are being marketed under the title "Soil Based Organisms" (SBO).  We want increased competition from the flora in our gut to crowd out any pathogens. Oh and there are other great probiotics such as: Kefir, live sauerkraut, kombucha.. and there are certainly many other cultured foods deserving a mention that I can't think of.
• Browse the alternatives sub-forum at kickas.org
• Turmeric (Curcumin). This works really well for some people. Ginger is pretty good too. Actually ginger, galangal and turmeric are all related.