Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives NSD and diet-related; Is there a comprehensive list of starchy foods?

Hi everyone

I'm not newly diagnosed with AS, in fact I was diagnosed about 9 years ago and in all that time I haven't once come across any information regarding a low starch diet helping this condition. Incredible! I'm certainly glad I found it now.

I'm having no end of trouble finding a website that has a comprehensive list of starchy foods to avoid and suitable foods to eat. I can certainly find lists, it's just that none of them seem to agree with each other It's driving me insane! I have every good intention in the world of giving up starch but I keep making 'mistakes' according to one list or another.

For starters, I have what a 'healthy' person would consider an excellent diet. It did however include bananas, quinoa, spelt, millet, brown rice, tamari, sweet potato as examples. I understand these have to go, but some lists say things like cashews, almonds, walnuts, coconut (shredded and flour) etc have starch and other lists don't agree. I'm so incredibly confused I seriously have no idea of what to eat!

Also, does anyone know where Iodine can be purchased in Australia? Not easy to come by for some reason.

Cheers

Hi Gabby,

Welcome to KA - a no/ low starch diet has helped me a lot!

Just looked in quickly on KA tonight - am off to bed now but will try and answer your questions tomorrow (Oz time...)

There is a NSD section here at Kickas and so many with AS have done so wellwith the NSD. Did you see that if you test with iodine(starch turns from amber to black/blue) you know if its starchy and not to eat it? Have you read the testimonials?
Hope you feel better on the NSD, changing my diet fro my RA has made the biggest difference in my pain and swelling, no comparison, the meds don't help as much as diet.

https://www.kickas.org/asfood.shtml

https://www.kickas.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showthreaded&Number=143543#Post143543

Hi, so nice to meet you! I would recommend Carol Sinclair's book The Low Starch IBS Diet. While you are waiting to find iodine (chemists, pharmacy, amazon?) here is a something I'm learning about that may be of interest:

http://stanfordhospital.org/digestivehealth/nutrition/DH-Low-FODMAP-Diet-Handout.pdf

I am so gratified that finally the medical world is taking diet to address a specific health concern seriously. While this diet may be specifically addressing IBS, I see a lot of overlap with the low starch diet for AS, and it makes me hopeful that one day rheumatologists may routinely suggest the low starch diet to their patients with AS.

I would gradually ease into it, cutting down on grains and lactose and see how you do. Blogs and websites about the paleo diet can be wonderful resources, such as marksdailyapple.com Actually, looking back I did not ease into it and read everything I could went for it!

sickopportunity.com is by a member here and has a how to get started page that may be helpful for you.

It's tricky to find absolutely definitive lists of what is starchy and what is not because there is still confusion in the general world about starch vs carbohydrate. Along with that, fruits and vegetables have different growing and ripening environments and that can influence how much starch is present. Also, people react differently to foods in general, for example, one person may be able to continue drinking coffee, another finds it aggravates symptoms, even though the beverage of hot coffee tests negative for starch, so, we learn to listen to our bodies.

You'll get lots of support and information here, glad you found your way...

https://www.kickas.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=143543

KA - Starch content of foods, the list. See menue bar on right hand side under 'Popular Topics'.

Also of use is Carol Sinclair's Book : The IBS low starch diet book. But basically, what you want is right here on KA.

Hi & thank you to all for your welcome & support!

I wish my immunologist had mentioned this diet to me years ago, it would have been so good to know! I'd say I'm 'lucky' in that I'm medication free and my pain is low to mild. Worst in my hands, knees & lower spine and I often have IBS flares with certain foods but otherwise I'm in relatively good shape.

I had read info about the iodine test and have been trying to locate some in Sydney but the only one pharmacists or naturopaths seem to have is an iodine/potassium supplement. I don't think that's going to help. Might need to purchase online at Amazon.

I have the IBS low starch diet book on order so am eagerly awaiting its arrival as I'm sure there will be a huge amount of useful info in there to help me on my way.

I'm currently studying a Bachelor of Health Science in Naturopathy & Nutrition so have some great resource but was stunned to find such little information in all of them regarding starch as opposed to carbohydrate. They're lumped in together.

I have done a lot of reading on the Paleo diet as that seems to be quite similar to low starch however they use a lot of almonds/nuts and so many people have mentioned that's a trigger for them so I was cautious of using them.

I just found 'The Starch Content of Foods' list in the menu bar this morning so will be spending time going through that.

Thanks to all for your suggestions of websites too. I'll be looking through all of them and I guess going through a period of trial and error. I'm considering following the GAPS introductory diet too. That's appealing because there's some thought it can actually heal and seal the gut.

All very helpful and thank you again. Hope to be able to help all of you with information one day!

Cheers

Sounds like you've got a great toolbox to work from going forward!! I thought the same thing a year & 1/2 ago when I stumbled onto kickas.org, why didn't I find out about this diet sooner?!? For the past 7 years, I had been experimenting with gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, grain free, as my hubby calls it "food free" for years, and then made the starch connection. Going starch free (or very low starch) has made a world of difference, of course I still avoid other foods that I have found to be in-flammatory. If a food is known as a superfood, or anti-inflammatory it almost always agrees with me though!

I have a website full of raw, paleo, starch free comfort foods, foods that are truly comforting to the body! http://bettyrawker.com/

Wish you all the healing success on your journey!!

xoxo

I saw your website when I was looking at some of the other posts on this site and quickly saved it as a favourite Looks fab, and your recipes are just the kind of thing I like! I'm lactose intolerant but have been on the gluten/dairy free thing for a while too as it seemed to help quite a bit.

I was wondering about your use of almonds and dates as I'm still trying to figure out the 'safe' foods to start with. Almonds appear to be an issue for some and dates (which I love) are high in (natural) sugar which made me question whether they were ok to use?

Is there a safe timeframe in which to do the LSD or NSD? i.e one month or two when needed? I just wonder if removing all carbohydrate from the diet is actually a very healthy thing for the body long term? Is the LSD only for use with major flares or to be considered a way of life?

Off to find myself a Yoga class today. Need to make sure I take care of my posture as well as my insides!

Thanks for all the info xx

Hello there and welcome to Kickas,

If you are already medication free and have low/mild pain, maybe you can try Low Starch rather than No Starch. I have been on diet 11 years now... trial and error over much of the first year.

You will not find one comprehensive list as will vary by individual. If very interested and want to be No Starch, than maybe testing with iodine is the way to go.

Walnuts should be safe... pistachios will be a bit starchier, but for those that have healthy guts, they may be able to tolerate them.

Some with very healthy guts may tolerate brown basmati rice and quinoa that are more easily digested.

Keep asking questions if you have them.

Best to you,
Tim

Hey There!

I will do my best to answer your questions. For my body, and many of my fellow "raw foodies" out there, dates are an awesome carb, and this diet is really more about "low starch" and not about "low carb". Yes, most common carbs are starchy, but in order not to starve ourselves, we still need to find the carbs that agree with our bodies and lovingly consume them!! Yay for that!!

There isn't one person (other than yourself) who can give you the best advice on how your body will react to certain natural sugars or certain nuts, like dates or almonds. You will just have to take the time to go through trial and error. I can say that for me, I only eat raw & raw sprouted almonds. I NEVER eat roasted almonds, as they totally don't agree with me, but living almonds are a great part of my diet and I love them for it. And I usually consume my raw almonds processed into easily digested almond milk, or ground into almond butter and added to dishes to make “Thai Style Peanut Sauces” sans peanuts.

Also, there are plenty of super low/no starch foods that set my gut off on fire, and create inflammatory responses in my body, like tomatoes, oranges, and now peppers. They may be no/low starch foods, but they are super inflammatory for me regardless.

My best advice for getting started and seeing results quickly, is to drink a ton of smoothies during the intro phase, along with green juices and find your "safe foods". Foods that you can always retreat too to prevent a flare from coming on, foods that make you feel great! I fully believe from experience that drinking smoothies (or green juices) is the easiest way to absorb nutrients into the body while healing the gut, that and fresh green juices, and homemade soups & broths. That way your body can spend less energy on digestion and more energy on healing inflammation.

For my body, my safe foods are: mejdool dates, spinach, raw almond milk, raw hazelnut milk, sautéed kale, sautéed chard, sautéed mushrooms, garlic, ginger, seaweeds, tamari (only soy product I tolerate), homemade Asian style broths like Tom Kha, Pho Soup, coconut milk based ice creams or soups, grapefruit, fresh pineapple, fresh basil, cilantro, coconut oil, maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar, vanilla beans, cinnamon, blueberries, raspberries, avocado, roasted brussel sprouts, raw cacao, carrots, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, raw walnuts, hemp seed based salad dressings, sunflower seed based pates, celery, coconut vinegar, peaches, fresh mint, raw fermented sauerkraut, cabbage, raw fermented pickles, cucumbers, raw ahi tuna, raw or cooked salmon, cooked scallops & shrimps, a little grass fed beef on occasion, asparagus, green string beans, sesame seed milk, chia seeds, water kefir….

And my favorite anti-inflammatory juice for my body: green apple, celery, lemon, ginger, wheatgrass, parsley.

To answer your question: “I just wonder if removing all carbohydrate from the diet is actually a very healthy thing for the body long term?” And to answer that correctly, we are not removing all carbohydrates, we are simply removing all the super starchy foods, and finding the foods with low or no starch content that we can tolerate that don’t flare up our AS or cause inflammation in our bodies.

And also, I recommend to just give this diet and approach some time. It took 10 years of AS pains, colitis, and overall inflammation for my body to get this damaged. It then took 5 months eating super low starch for me to drastically reduce/remove the inflammation from my body. And to keep my body inflammation free, I get lots of rest, drink lots of superfood smoothies/juices, keep the stress out of my life, and continue to visualize great things & healing! So far, this advice has worked wonders for me and my healing.

xoxo