Hello, everyone. I found this site and forum several days ago while looking for a starch free diet. I thought I had tried every diet(more than once), but because of some issues that won't go away I had been trying to figure out what I still needed to change. I don't know if I have AS, but I do have a lot of the symptoms. I've been eating very low starch for several days now. One question that I have about the diet is did anyone here have problems digesting lettuce when they started the diet, and if digesting it improved as time when on.

Thanks

Violeta - Yes, from over here. I can't 'do' lettuce. Can do those tender herbal leaf mixes but not lettuce per se. Remember a chum telling me that lettuce contains some sort of (?)acid I think she said. Anywas, I cannot eat lettuce.

BTW - IF buy ready washed greens stuff, then re-rinse as will have been waqshed in chlorinated water - not good for you!

Thanks, Molly. I guess I will skip the lettuce for today. I suppose I should have posted my message in the Diet forum.

I can't do much raw food either. I do tend to cook my veges fairly well to make them more digestible. I'm only doing a low starch diet though.

My wife has problems with iceberg lettuce, but she does well with romaine lettuce. So that's something you can check.

Hello:) I'm new here and just was hoping to meet some people with similar affliction. I hope some of you will say "hi"

Hello welda55 - Violeta. Hi back to you. Sorry to hear to you are also afflicted with AS, and there sure are many here to listen and to share. Heigh. Make a new post, and tell us all about yourself. There will be many fellow sufferers to greet you -
Good to say 'Hi' -

Molly C (France)
Keeping on Keeping on (as we all do)

Thank you for your reply:) I filled out the profile so anyone should be able to find my info. I'm not sure what an Avatar is,tho. Mostly I was hoping to connect with some folks here because I know how frustrating it can be to deal with this diseASe. There still seems to be a lot of controversy between Dr's regards this diagnosis. I have a wonderful specialist but it took me years to find him.

when my gastritis is flared, i'm assuming my intestines are flared as well, because during those times, i can not digest most fresh fruits and veggies, including lettuce.

some well cooked fruits were ok, such as applesauce. and well cooked cruciferous veggies (brocoli and cabbage and possibly cauliflower) were ok.

but when my gastritis and bowels are good, like now, i can eat most all fruits and veggies, raw or cooked or dried. so long as they are ripe enough.

Thanks for the input, everyone. Today I just bought some apples to try, and next I'll try some romaine. The baby lettuce leaves cause me more trouble than anything. I don't digest raw fruit and vegetables, either, but they cause me issues when their cooked, too. I'm hoping that will change for me, too. I do have one unfortunate problem in that I have to eat low purine foods since my first attack on my joints and tendons about 3 years ago. It makes things very difficult, and more than once I went back to eating fish/chicken/red meat, only to very soon have serious problems return. I have been trying to use raw dairy for my protein source on and off since then. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Maybe it hasn't been working because for the most part I had been eating starch at the same time. I am hopeful that cutting out the starch will be the missing link.