Hello, since I started NSD, I have been feeling much better. I can now run and I couldn't walk few months ago. I have only been on it for 6 weeks so there is great improvement, however, I am constipated. I eat lots of green veggies, avocados, blueberries, etc so I'm getting fiber in but I am still very constipated. I want to add roasted green beans and wheatgrass to my diet in hopes to get things moving and become regular. Are green beans and wheatgrass safe on NSD? Also, any other ideas? I already take huge amounts of magnesium, calcium, vit C, D3 and drink tons of water (at least a gallon a day). Thank you.

Hello, ranger7:

Very happy the diet is working for You, also.

Green beans are usually too starchy--wing beans (snow peas) could be safe. Wheatgrass juice is very good and typically not starchy (some powders contain anti-clumping agents).

You seem to be getting enough fiber, but wondering about variety and bulk--nuts, tofu, pineapple, etc. Magnesium in the form of the citrate solution might be good for this issue.

This too will pass,

HEALTH,
John

Thank you John. Seems like I always had gut related issues which I feel caused my AS. I will keep at it and hopefully as my gut heals it will get better. I know healing the gut will take a while. I think I get good variety of foods, I eat the same thing everyday. Here is my exact diet, would you mind taking a look and maybe see something I should change? I will add pure wheatgrass too to help me detoxify.

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Breakfast:
2 eggs and 4 Egg whites and cup of blueberries, 2tbsp olive
Oil.
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar with glass of water

Snack - large salad consisting of lettuce, red cabbage, kale, spinach, avocado, egg and either sardines or canned salmon. 1 tbsps olive oil.

Lunch - grilled chicken breast (seasoned with oregano, salt and pepper) and cup of broccoli - 2tbsp olive oil. Cup of kraut.
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar with cup of water

Snack - Paleo pure egg white protein, handfull of blanched almonds and 1 TBSP of coconut oil

Dinner - Paleo pure egg white protein with cup of blueberries. Cup of homemade bone broth.


I also take OptiMen's vitamins, claritin soft gel tabs, seeking health ProBiota Sensitive probiotic and HMB with breakfast. HMB is amino acid and helps recover soreness after workouts.

With my snack I take fish oil pill, glucosamine, 2 magnesium-calcium-D3 pills and DHist for allergies.

Lunch I take another HMB pill and 1 magnesium-calcium-D3 pill. Turmeric and turmeric extract pill.

Dinner I take HMB pill and 1 magnesium-calcium-D3 pill, 1 pill of borage oil.

Hey, ranger7:

You are on a very good regimen, but I think a little more variety is needed.

I don't know about the turmeric--I am always suspect because the root does have a lot of starch, but the extract should be okay.

And although Your diet is very good, it is more than gut healing sometimes that is required: The longer we have AS, the larger the Klebsiella colonies and the greater chances for these to establish outside the gut; some amount of our AS activity is due to the continual presence of these colonies, mostly unaffected by diet.

As You are aware of the antibiotic approach, most physicians will not be helpful--The Road Back Foundation can sometimes provide a local physician willing to work with antibiotics for AI diseases.

But back to diet and supplements I am not sure the HMB is necessary in the amount You are taking, but I very much encourage the use of amino acids. I don't like fish oil as much as borage oil and the amount You are taking is too low for much anti-inflammatory activity.

I don't want to tweak Your actual diet too much, but would suggest adding more nuts--walnuts, pistachios, macadamias, for bulk and good oils. Consider trying pineapple, melons, grapes, raisins, and cranberries (dried) for snacks and desserts.

Doing things in cycles to see how Your body reacts: I would add borage seed oil and take away one HMB and the fish oil for four days in a week--go up to six capsules of the borage seed oil most of them immediately before retiring.

It is almost impossible to improve upon Your diet, but if the constipation does not abate, it is possibly because You need more bulk. Maybe some tofu in the bone broth would help--I am a proponent of miso soup and I think there are some benefits eating tofu, despite all the attacks on Monsanto.

I don't know how helpful these suggestions are; perhaps others will be able to help

HEALTH,
John

John,

This is outstanding - thank you very much for your help. I'll make the changes one at a time to see if I react to anything.

Do you take a probiotic? If so, this may be something to consider.

Last summer, after years of off and on constipation and unpredictability, I had great success with Garden of Life's Primal Defense Ultra probiotic. It contains contains s. boulardii and b. subtilis (a soil-based organism) alongside some of the usual lacto and bifido suspects and was recommended by a friend with similar issues. I worked up to 3x day (the recommended dose) and after about 2 weeks things were much improved. In fact, they were better than they had been in many years.

But then I ran out. And instead of buying more of what was obviously working for me, I switched to a regular 12 strain lacto and bifido probiotic. It was a huge mistake. Everything ground to a halt. I also had a massive rosacea flare and acne break out. So I went back on the Primal Defense Ultra, things improved, and this time then when I ran out I just stopped taking it and everything stayed fine.

After I started NSD back in January I met with a naturopath who advised me to add probiotics to help heal the gut (I'm still trying out his protocol; if it works I will share on the forum). So I re-started the Primal Defense Ultra and everything was great. But when I tried to order more, I accidentally got the wrong one: Primal Defense Ultra RAW (which doesn't contain the s. boulardii or the b. subtilis), which I decided to try anyways. It was a disaster. I had the same problem as last time: everything slowed to a crawl and then my face broke out.

So now I'm back on the Primal Defense Ultra, still trying to get back to where I was. My takeaway is that regular strains of lacto or bifido bacteria, on their own, have a negative effect on me. It may be a particular strain, but I have no urgent desire to figure out which one, so I'll be sticking with the PD Ultra for now.

As for moving forward, my naturopath had recommended that I switch up my probiotic periodically. I'm naturally very reluctant to do this, given my recent experiences, but I have seen another soil-based probiotic, called Prescript Assist, that has been recommended for constipation in particular that I may try. I might also try s. boulardii on its own. Would be interested in hearing from anyone who may have tried these or had similar experiences with probiotics.

Many A.S. sufferers have to take analgesics for their pain. Some of these analgesics are of the morphine derived type. Such things as paracetamol, dihydrocodeine and such like contain morphine and so are apt to cause constipation. So if this is a problem for you talk to your doctor about it. The doc. may change your medication or prescribe some laxative for you.

Frederick, I am not on any medication - never was for AS, I just dealt with the pain until I started NSD and things improved.

Kellybells, the probiotic you take has rice, barley and oat grass in it - aren't those starches? I also heard of switching probiotics to keep things improving. I take Seeking Health ProBiota Sensitive which only includes

Lactobacillus species 19+ billion CFUs*
Lactobacillus rhamnosus
Lactobacillus acidophilus
Lactobacillus brevis
Lactobacillus casei
Lactobacillus plantarum
Lactobacillus salivarius
Lactobacillus paracasei
Bifidobacterium species 6+ billion CFUs*
Bifidobacterium bifidum
Bifidobacterium infantis
Bifidobacterium longum
Bifidobacterium lactis
Bifidobacterium breve

Vegetable capsule and L-leucine.

The extras in the PD ultra made me hesitate, so I waited until I made progress with NSD to make it easier to gauge its impact. It didn't make things worse, even at 3x day.

My guess is the barley and oat grasses aren't starchy like the mature seeds. I was more worried about the rice hull but think maybe that's more fibrous than starchy.

If the constipation persists, may be worth trying a different kind of probio that's not the usual lacto and bifido strains.

Thank you Kellybells. I was thinking about different kind of probiotic if the issue continues. How about eating kraut instead of taking pills? Do you think natural fermented foods would be a better way to go?

I can't answer about sauerkraut - I don't eat it often enough to gauge the impact.

If you do try it, please post your results. I would love to know if it helps or hinders.