I just steamed some broccoli, and have been regularly eating broccoli while on this diet. Finally tonight I decided to test. Straight black. Do you think it could be a false positive??

I thought broccoli was nearly starchless, in all forms! Could this be why I feel 90% better and not 100% since going on the diet?

Thanks!

I had the same issue with cauliflower. I guess the heat may convert the glucose to starch.

Now, I'm no scientist, but isn't it only the other way round? Starch to glucose? If I've got it right, it's the cell membranes in the vegetable, when subjected to heat, that are broken down. "Releasing" the starch. That's why cooked is more starchy than raw.

Could be you are right. What I am thinking, however, is that the heat of the cooking process polymerizes the glucose molecules. I forget what the name of the process is but doesn't something similar happen when sugar cooked?

Tailor, you have a good point.

Caramel candy is all about heat making sugar more complex. I think adding acid along with the heat favors the other direction of sugars breaking down into simpler ones, see "invert sugar syrup".

On the other hand, Millford's theory sounds like what I read in Carole Sinclair's book, and actually there's no reason they can't both be true...

It could help to replace it for a while with something even safer (e.g. more green salads); I've been afraid to try broccoli lately because what few calories it has are mostly complex carbs. Then later you could go back and give a try with raw broccoli, since in general raw vegetables are supposed to be safer than cooked.

Everyone is different, but for me, broccoli has never given me a problem in my 2.5 years on the NSD.

Perhaps you can share what you typically eat in a day, and we can see if there's another culprit?

I suspect for people who have long term AS damage, it's very difficult to get to a 100% pain-free state. I hope I'm wrong there, but I wonder if that is a factor for those who can't be completely asymptomatic.

Additionally, I don't think it's realistic to expect a continuous rate of improvement on the NSD. Even progress on the NSD will have its peaks and plateaus (hopefully no valleys!). I suspect that as you get better, you'll become more aware / sensitive to things, so that last 10% will require you to tweak some more. I dunno...just my two cents.

Best of luck as you continue down the NSD path!

Thanks everyone! Thankfully, I don't believe I have mechanical damage yet, because I had a very long pain free remission for 7 months this year.

I guess I will eat more salads....ugh! I eat them everyday for lunch! What is interesting is I thought cauliflower would certainly turn black after steaming, but it didn't. I had mashed cauliflower 2 nights ago and it was delicious and didn't give me any problems.

My last 10% of pain is only when doing certain things, like getting out of the car, or bending over while twisting or something like that. So I think mostly it's just residual stiffness from the last flare-up. I could be wrong though. I know it's nothing like the past 3 years of constantly limping and taking 5 mins to get out of bed, so I'm doing something right!

I find vegies like brocolli and cauliflower can be starchy certain times of the year...dunno why. Winter is worst for us here in NZ as most vegies start reacting to iodine. Usually brocolli is the last to go of Jon's food list for a couple of months then seems to come right again.

I find vegies like brocolli and cauliflower can be starchy certain times of the year...dunno why. Winter is worst for us here in NZ as most vegies start reacting to iodine. Usually brocolli is the last to go of Jon's food list for a couple of months then seems to come right again.