Sources for good calories ? Leaky gut diet

KrisImmanuel
KrisImmanuel Posts: 3 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm posting this for my husband - We are recently starting him on a new diet plan on a quest to heal his leaky gut & autoimmune diseases. This puts him on a very restricted diet - NO dairy, grain, nuts, seeds, fruits, potatoes/sweet potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, okra, peppers, broccoli, legumes, or eggs. What he CAN eat are veggies (except those previously listed) and meats, however, he has somewhat of an intolerance to beef and will not eat pork. Hopefully he will just be on this diet for 30 to 90 days to give his gut a chance to heal and then start re-introducing foods one by one.

The problem is where can he get his calories from ? I am a bit worried about him in this department - he is 6' 1" and only 145lb - he can't really afford to loose any weight. We are using coconut and olive oils, as well as fish, chicken, and avocado pretty much daily (in addition to as much veggies he can eat) and its still a struggle to hit a minimum 2000 calorie mark for him. He also feels hungry but I'm thinking part of that is due to diet change - he's Indian and normally has rice at every meal . . .

Suggestions, tips, food ideas ? All welcome :)



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Replies

  • RAinWA
    RAinWA Posts: 1,980 Member
    Not trying to be snarky, but who diagnosed him with "leaky gut" and put him on this very restricted diet? He really should get a referral to a registered dietician to help craft a suitable diet if he needs to restrict all those foods.

  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,874 Member
    Not touching leaky gut, but have you researched low FODMAP foods?
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,937 Member
    KootiezKids wrote: »
    Yes, 'its a thing'. He's been to 2 Dr.s and tried a few other things - This plan seems promising . . . Diet restriction is due to giving his stomach a rest so it can heal, plus because he has 2 autoimmune disease so this also restricts foods.

    What kind of "doctors"? Alternative medicine? Naturopathic? Chiropractor (yes, they try to diagnose things way outside their levels of expertise because $$.)

    Has he seen a gastroenterologist?

    I mean, the food plan might be helpful, nuts and grains can damage delicate tissues and many people have issues with dairy and grains in general.

    I guess if you are going to believe this diagnosis then you work with what's left. Lots of oil, dark meat poultry, high-fat fish like salmon, coconut oil in smoothies - that kind of thing.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    KootiezKids wrote: »
    Yes, 'its a thing'. He's been to 2 Dr.s and tried a few other things - This plan seems promising . . . Diet restriction is due to giving his stomach a rest so it can heal, plus because he has 2 autoimmune disease so this also restricts foods.

    Doctors or naturopaths/functional medicine practitioners/etc?
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    this addresses the validity of leaky gut, and has links to other good posts.

    imho. get different doctors.
  • KrisImmanuel
    KrisImmanuel Posts: 3 Member
    He went to two general drs. and one autoimmune specialist - he tried 3 different rounds of medications through them that were mostly steroid based over the course of 1.5 years, and did not work. We don't really have much $$ for more drs at this time and he's kinda done with them for now. We thought we would give diet suggestions a try.

    Again - it is only temporary - a few diet restrictions will stick long term once we figure out his trigger foods.
  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
    Have you looked into the Whole 30 diet? It's aimed at exactly this sort of thing. If anything, looking up whole 30 recipes might be a good idea. This diet you're trying sounds even more restrictive then whole 30, but still might be a good source to find foods he can eat during this elimination trial.
  • Hamsibian
    Hamsibian Posts: 1,388 Member
    edited August 2018
    Leaky gut is still in it's infancy, so I'm not going to touch on whether it exists or not.

    I'm on a similar diet (Autoimmune Protocol) for my Crohn's Disease. Keep in mind that I discussed it with my GI doctor, RD, acupuncturist, and a doctor who was recommended to administer TPN (didn't though since I was getting adequate nutrition). They were all okay with it as long as I was smart about eating enough and getting adequate nutrient intake. Surprisingly, there are plenty of foods one can eat. Just eat as much variety as possible, and think out of the box (organ meat, for instance). It is taking me a while to heal, but I reintroduced eggs, ground pepper, potatoes, soy sauce, some tofu, green beans, almonds, and walnuts.

    Talk to the ENTIRE medical team, and pay attention to symptoms and lab work.

    As for meals, fattier cuts of meat (80-85% lean beef, poultry thighs, salmon), vegetables, safe starches like winter squashes, and pile on the oil!
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
    edited August 2018
    I'm not suggesting doing the whole 30 diet, but you can probably find whole 30 recipes online, google or pinterest, and then filter through them to find ones that don't include the foods he is eliminating? Sounds like his meals are going to be a bit blah for a while, meat and vegetables. I like to get a bunch of different veggies and chop them up and roast them. Trying to just actually answer your question and not get derailed by the leaky gut thing.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
    you could try making that cauliflower rice for him... never had it, but if he likes to have rice with his meals it might be worth a shot?
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    You could try entering the foods he can have into myfridgefood.com and see what recipes it spits out. Maybe help make the foods he can eat a bit more palatable.
  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
    Also, to bump up the calories, be liberal in your use of oils. Also, Ghee (clarified butter) might be another fat option too. By making (or buying) ghee, it gets rid of the milk solids and just leaves you with the fat. Boil your chicken scraps and bones to make stock too, and don't skim the fat. It would add extra nutrients to whatever you're making.

    Other meat options:
    Lamb
    Organ meat
    Turkey
    Chicken (especially dark meat, skin felt on)
    Tuna
    Fish
    Shrimp
    Clams
    Rabbit
    Venison (If you know any hunters)


    Fat options:
    olive oil
    coconut oil
    ghee
    avacado oil




  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,887 Member
    KootiezKids wrote: »
    He went to two general drs. and one autoimmune specialist - he tried 3 different rounds of medications through them that were mostly steroid based over the course of 1.5 years, and did not work. We don't really have much $$ for more drs at this time and he's kinda done with them for now. We thought we would give diet suggestions a try.

    Again - it is only temporary - a few diet restrictions will stick long term once we figure out his trigger foods.

    Someone on his team should have given him a list of what he can eat, and if they didn't, ask for it. They should be able to email or mail this to you.

    He may be able to eat Quinoa, as it is botanically related to spinach and amaranth. There maybe other foods that are similar to rice but are botanically different enough that he can have them. For example, "wild rice" is a different species of grass than regular rice.

    I would ask specifically about what to do for a rice substitute and about starchy carbs.

    And maybe you'll get lucky and they'll say, "Oh, we didn't mean regular rice, we meant grains like corn." :dizzy:
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    I kind of get the impression that you're not doing this at your doctor's direction. It sounds like maybe you've tried doctors, meds, etc and aren't happy with the results and are now striking out on your own to experiment with diet.

    Am I reading that right?
  • NQHS1981
    NQHS1981 Posts: 7 Member
    KrisImmanuel wrote: »
    I'm posting this for my husband - We are recently starting him on a new diet plan on a quest to heal his leaky gut & autoimmune diseases. This puts him on a very restricted diet - NO dairy, grain, nuts, seeds, fruits, potatoes/sweet potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, okra, peppers, broccoli, legumes, or eggs. What he CAN eat are veggies (except those previously listed) and meats, however, he has somewhat of an intolerance to beef and will not eat pork. Hopefully he will just be on this diet for 30 to 90 days to give his gut a chance to heal and then start re-introducing foods one by one.

    The problem is where can he get his calories from ? I am a bit worried about him in this department - he is 6' 1" and only 145lb - he can't really afford to loose any weight. We are using coconut and olive oils, as well as fish, chicken, and avocado pretty much daily (in addition to as much veggies he can eat) and its still a struggle to hit a minimum 2000 calorie mark for him. He also feels hungry but I'm thinking part of that is due to diet change - he's Indian and normally has rice at every meal . . .

    Suggestions, tips, food ideas ? All welcome :)



    Healing your gut can take a year or more. Rice is not gluten so he should be able to eat that. I have psoriasis. Eliminated dairy, alcohol, and a bunch of other stuff. I eat protein / fruit / veggies and take probiotics and other supplements. I have a post if you care to check it out. I'm eating more now than ever before (I would literally have an apple and a cup of coffee all day before, now I eat 3 meals and 2 snacks, exercise a ton). Nightshades are out as is pork. try grass fed beef, free range chicken (the antibiotics are what ruin your gut). No doctor I've seen (and I've seen many) believe in leaky gut. Add a good probiotic, eliminate sugar. no tuna due to the mercury/heavy metals, just fresh water fish. Keep us posted

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