Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives NSD and diet-related; No/Low Starch Diet Success Stories

Hello DragonSlayer,

Yeah I'd like to join the group but was unable to send you a PM.
Are supplements with additives like Class 2 preservatives, emulsifiers, sorbitol or glycerine good or should such supplements be avoided?

Much Thanks.

Hey, tyler26:

A lot of the additives are not provocative, like sorbitol and glycerine that You mention and maltodextrin is only mildly so especially in the quantities used in the processing.

My email is anzaltopo@yahoo.com; I make it available instead of PM, now that I remember as otherwise, I get too many PMs.

HEALTH,
John

I'm so sorry to hear it. Looking at your list of foods, I do see a few of my red flags: mushrooms, grapes, and blanched almonds.

I have been fortunate in responding very quickly to the NSD. But my basic diet is very limited (meat, green veg, very little fruit). Along with starch, I also cut out (or significantly reduced):

- disaccharides like lactose, sucrose and maltose
- high fiber or complex plant foods like nuts, seeds, coconut ground flax, etc.

My thinking was to limit anything that I thought might make good food for the klebsiella, achieve some stability, and then start testing new foods. After 6 weeks of this very restricted diet, my pain is 90% better. But I should add that I started with milder symptoms (primarily pain in my finger joints and neck stiffness)

I've started trying new foods and have discovered that foods that I think other people here tolerate quite well are not ok for me:
- Vegetables mushrooms, winter squash, carrots, fennel and rutabaga are all bad; kale, cabbage, cauliflower mixed results so far
- Nuts I'm ok with small amounts of hazelnuts but almonds and cashews (even finely ground) have been very bad
- Chocolate not ok for me in any amount or form
- Fruit red and green grapes, pineapple and apples are bad; ripe papaya and kiwi are ok but even slightly underripe is a problem; blueberries, strawberries mixed results
- Spices even small amounts of seed or root spices, like black pepper, curry, turmeric, ginger, etc.; i'm down to salt and fresh herbs

My only fruit right now is sweet cherries, which I buy frozen and cook first and eat in small amounts at a time.

Good luck with the next few weeks! Hope you find some foods that will work for you.

Unfortunately, I cannot afford to become even more ascetic with food. I've lost a near-unhealthy amount of weight and muscle tone, and the only thing I haven't tried to effect lower pain levels through diet at this point is simply not eat for more than 2 days (I've tried fasting for 2 days, and to attempt to fast for longer, again, would not be healthy as I've already lost over 10% of my body weight in a month).

Maybe one day I'll attempt this diet again when I can afford to lose weight again, but even then, as it is, there is just far too much variance in what affects people and what can or can't be eaten for one to conclusively say that I did or will do the diet correctly.

I honestly appreciate your feedback, as well as everyone else who's contributed to keep this place going -- many people have achieved amazing things through the diet! But I feel it would be remiss of me if I didn't also post when this diet didn't work, at least for me.

So sorry to hear it didn't work out for you.

The restrictive diet is such a challenge. I also lost weight at first, as I had such a hard time figuring out what I could eat to reach a decent calorie intake. I was shocked when I did a count and realized that most days I was only hitting 1300 calories, which is drastically low for me.

Not sure if this will help you in the future if you decide to try NSD again, but I only managed to stop my weight slide when I started eating ungodly amounts of fat. All of my meals are now based around fatty cuts - ground beef, short ribs, pork ribs, chicken legs, etc. I'm basically a cardiologist's nightmare right now and my friends and colleagues are horrified. But it seems to be working.

I'm planning to start trying non-meat fats soon to keep my calories up, like coconut milk and more olive oil. I suppose that's the only way a vegetarian could do this diet...

Hi,
I had a flesh extension at the end of my tongue for 3 weeks (like cyst). It was growing. Yesterday I got it removed. Anyone, have any idea on this. side of medicine etc.,
I wanted to put the image from my computer, but could not.

Kindly post.

Jay

When you say "I got it removed" I assume it was removed by a doctor. If it was removed by a doc. in a hospital you could always phone and ask someone. You may not need to ask the actual doc. who removed it as there is probably some record of him/her doing the work. A secretary may be able to help. Perhaps a letter re. the removal was sent to your GP. If so then your GPs. surgery may be able to tell you.

Yes. It was removed by a doc. I need to follow in next 4 days.

Jay

Hi John,
Can you tell me which one of borage seed oil is advisable. I understand it should be free from PA (pyrrolizidine alkaloids).

Hello DragonSlayer,

I make tangible gains when I fast which begin to diminish after a couple of days. And then in 5-6 days, I'm back to where I was before I started fasting, with all the inflammation and pain. Despite following a minimal diet all the time, none of which is starchy. This pattern has repeated a few times now.
As I was med free for over a year over, I've been reluctant to take them so far into my flare. But as the inflammation and pain has been increasing, I'm also worried about any further damage to my spine.
Should I consider taking sulfasalazine as I work with the diet? Is it gut safe and does it help in the short run? If not, will taking indomethacin for a week or depopred(steroid) one time help achieve results faster?