(no subject)

[the_rck]

Adding more salt is essential to me feeling better. Add salt to *everything*. Yes, even that.

Vanilla ice cream can stop late night reflux more effectively than Tums. Frozen yogurt doesn't work. Other flavors either don't work as well or make things worse. McDonald's vanilla milkshakes are always a reflux causing thing. Wendy's chocolate frosties help nearly as much as vanilla does, but other chocolate ice cream things tend to cause reflux.

Cheese is great. Half and half gives zero problems (except maybe cholesterol related). Cottage cheese is great. Yogurt needs something chewable added to help me swallow it safely and requires careful checking of ingredients for sweeteners, inulin, and problem fruits. Greek yogurt can work in place of sour cream on potatoes and possibly in other contexts. Cream cheese is fine in things but doesn't taste good on its own. Butter is fine as long as I'm not frying/saute-ing.

My body seems happier with at least one serving of beans a day. I have to be cautious because a lot of prepared foods containing beans include seasoning that will make me sick. Pickled beans create problems. Avoid bean salad more than about three days old.

Hummus varies wildly in terms of things added to the chickpea base. It may be safe or may not, depending on those extras. Refried beans also often have unsafe seasoning and may be high in fat and dangerous for Scott.

Baked potatoes are almost always fine, even with a lot of margarine. Again, caution is required about seasonings. Sweet potatoes and winter/butternut/acorn squash are also almost always fine. Fried versions are only safe before 2 p.m. Mashed versions require care because of texture issues.

Apples, apricots, cherries, cranberries, dates, figs, nectarines, plums/prunes, peaches, raisins are all digestively neutral. Green grapes seem to be fine, too. (Purple grapes are *not*. Check to see if there's a chemical difference between them and dark raisins.) Pineapple, melons, and bananas are also fine.

Avoid apple juice, cider, purple grape juice, and red wine. All cause reflux. Pomegranate may be an issue that way.

Raspberries and strawberries both cause intestinal problems, even in small amounts. Blueberries probably do but haven't been tested separately. It is not 'berries' in general that are a problem. Should test mulberries this summer.

Kiwi fruit make my mouth itch.

Citrus is okay early in the day and sometimes okay later on, depending on what else I eat. Grapefruit is contraindicated by several medications.

Rhubarb is fine early in the day or if balanced with vanilla ice cream.

Spinach and carrots are both fine, cooked or raw. Cooked collard greens are fine (haven't tried raw). Cabbage is okay, cooked or raw, depending on what it's seasoned with. Cooked zucchini/summer squash, green beans, green peas, and asparagus are fine. Cooked eggplant is fine but needs seasoning and so is better as a breakfast food. Steamed brussel sprouts are fine.

Cooked peapods are fine. I'm very unsure about uncooked peapods, specifically sugar snap peas.

Lettuces are only okay if they're as flat as spinach is. Iceberg is terrible for reflux. Romaine can be bad that way, depending on which parts are used. I think this relates to water content. It's the same sort of reflux I get from celery and cucumber.

Raw radishes seem to be okay in very small quantities. I haven't tried more than one a day, so larger quantities might be a problem.

Mushrooms are great in most contexts.

Broccoli and cauliflower are okay if cooked thoroughly, but I have occasional serious issues with the odor of both.

No oil on vegetables. Canned or steamed are best.

Canola oil is the least likely to cause me problems. I can handle a very small amount of sesame oil for flavor-- Maybe a drop per tbsp of canola oil?

Eggs are a migraine trigger. I'm not sure about the threshold amount or if other factors come into play. I think it's a problem with the yolk rather than with the white and ought to test that.

Chocolate is okay. Candy bar type, ice cream sauce type, or, say, brownies are fine even in the evening, but chocolate ice cream needs to be avoided then.

Unless they're very fresh, bread and bready textured things don't really register to my throat as 'food.' This includes pasta (which gets zero bump for freshness). They're all kind of disgusting plain, to the point that my throat doesn't want to let me swallow. If I put on margarine or cheese or jam/jelly, everything changes. Almond butter on bread makes things worse. The issues with bread-like things are a pity because the rest of my digestive system adores them. (This is perhaps why I've always been kind of meh about cake.)

Wheat is fine. Bran is *not*, decidedly not (gas issues), but well ground whole wheat flour is generally okay. Most grains are okay but have more issues with the seed coat intact. White wheat flour and white rice are really good as things to settle both reflux and IBS over the course of a few days.

Rye seems to have problems, but I think they're mostly due to caraway rather than to the rye itself because I've been okay after having rye bread with zero caraway.

Kernel or cob corn is iffy. Corn meal is generally fine. Hominy is great, very settling.

Quinoa is fine. Very thoroughly cooked oatmeal is fine and can also be very settling.

Honey, refined sugar, brown sugar, and powdered sugar are okay. Test agave. The sulfur in molasses can be a problem later in the day.

Stevia on its own is fine. I don't have problems with it in water or mixed with alcohol and/or glycerin or with maltodextrin. In all cases, stevia becomes bitter when added to a beverage that's too hot. Experiment with heating stevia to see if it's the abrupt heat or just the level of heat.

Ranch dressing, both Kroger brand and Hidden Valley, are usually safe any time of day.

Mustard is sometimes okay. Yellow mustard seems to be riskier than most browns.

Soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and teriyaki sauce are usually safe.

Roasted garlic is safer than any other kind. Raw or sauteed are the most dangerous. None are a good idea after 2 p.m.

Pickled onions give no issues on the onion side but are problems later in the day due to the vinegar. Powdered and/or dried onion seem entirely safe.

Rosemary, dill, and sage are always safe. Thyme is safe, too, but I think it tastes like dirt, so I limit the use of it. Turmeric is fine in tea and when used for color, but I haven't experimented beyond that as it's usually used in conjunction with things that will make me sick.

Ginger (ground, raw, or pickled), nutmeg, and cardamom are good at any time of day. Cinnamon *might* be okay but also can give me reflux, eaten late in the day. I need to figure out which versions are problems and which aren't. Avoid cloves at all costs.

Sesame seeds are safe, so are sunflower seeds.

Almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans, and some other nuts are fine. Walnuts and peanuts make my mouth itch. Look into differences between walnuts and pecans.

Peas and lentils are fine.

Tuna canned in water doesn't make me sick but has to be mixed with something that can cover or tone down the flavor in order to be palatable. Tuna canned in oil causes reflux.

Tilapia and cod are usually safe if steamed or baked. Other fish varies based on fishy flavor and fat content. Salmon is usually okay steamed or baked. No oil for cooking these. Seasoning has to be limited.

Shrimp, scallops, clams, oysters, etc. depend very heavily on how they're prepared and seasoned. Breading is bad. Oil is bad. Garlic is bad. Butter is risky after 2 p.m.

White meat chicken or turkey, baked or steamed, are generally fine. Dark meat varies more in safety, probably based on fat content. Chicken broth is good as long as it doesn't contain vegetable stock. Vegetable stock is too likely to contain things that will make me ill (mostly celery, tomatoes, and herbs/spices).

Unseasoned ground turkey is safe but tastes a lot like unseasoned tofu. Not recommended.

Steamed chicken liver is usually safe as long as it's not chokingly dry. Liver sausage usually has too much fat to be safe after about 2 p.m.

Beef/veal, mutton/lamb, and pork are all dangerous for Scott. Safety for me depends heavily on the fat content and on the method of cooking. Frying and grilling increase the risk. Ham is never safe, and bacon only squeaks in because it's delicious. Sausages are risky because they tend to have both a lot of fat and a lot of added spices listed as just 'spices.'

Lunchmeats are only safe if they don't have nitrates, nitrites. Possibly this is why ham and bacon are so terrible? Does turkey bacon contain nitrates/nitrites? Check that.

Basic coffee and black tea are generally fine. When they're problems, it's usually due to added flavors/sweeteners. Be very cautious about inexpensive flavored coffees. Caffeine generally doesn't cause me problems and helps with headaches. As far as I can tell, it doesn't wind me up or make me wakeful.



Any imperatives in the above are aimed at myself rather than anyone else.

My not mentioning something might mean I haven't tested it (or forgot it) but might equally mean that it's already on my Never Ever Eat This list.

Comments

[ayebydan]

♥

[lovepeaceohana]

That is a list - I imagine it's good to have it all written out in one place though!

[evalerie]

*hug*