A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a woman who had been experiencing a significant amount of stomach discomfort on a diet that consisted of an enormous amount of processed soy-containing products. Let’s call her “Denise.” I made some suggestions to help Denise increase the amount of real food in her diet, and this week she sent a new food log. I am pleased to note that not only is she eating more fresh produce, but she’s feeling better, too! Here is what she said:
“I kept a food diary this past week. It was a tough week since we were on the go and out a lot and it was [my son’s] birthday week.
Ate out more but I did shop last Sunday and made some things that carried us through part of the week. Ate almost no soy [not really] and very little cheese. Stomach pains almost non existent! I was surprised. That was a big change.
But still a lot of gas. So I’m not sure what’s causing that or if it’s left over from my diet before.
I did notice the nights I ate the whole wheat pasta dinner which I made from one of my vegetarian recipes was the only thing that seemed to really bother my stomach [see my comment]. Although I cooked it with fresh sautéed onions, as the recipe called for, I took most of them out before we ate the pasta since I knew [my son] wouldn’t like them and I was afraid they would bother my stomach. I saw some progress but I know I still have work to do.”
Here are my observations about “Denise’s” food log, which you can scroll down below to find:
“I kept a food diary this past week. It was a tough week since we were on the go and out a lot and it was [my son’s] birthday week.
Ate out more but I did shop last Sunday and made some things that carried us through part of the week. Ate almost no soy [not really] and very little cheese. Stomach pains almost non existent! I was surprised. That was a big change.
But still a lot of gas. So I’m not sure what’s causing that or if it’s left over from my diet before.
I did notice the nights I ate the whole wheat pasta dinner which I made from one of my vegetarian recipes was the only thing that seemed to really bother my stomach [see my comment]. Although I cooked it with fresh sautéed onions, as the recipe called for, I took most of them out before we ate the pasta since I knew [my son] wouldn’t like them and I was afraid they would bother my stomach. I saw some progress but I know I still have work to do.”
Here are my observations about “Denise’s” food log, which you can scroll down below to find:
#1 I am pleased to see that Denise drinks lots of water [though I didn’t report it] and eats all kinds of things and tolerates them well, including wheat (tuna sandwich, tagliolini pasta), peanuts, soy (the BK veggie burger). She may want t
o try avoiding walnuts assiduously for several weeks, and then eating a bunch to see if they upset her stomach. I’d do the same with guacamole, since she had some discomfort (once a bit, one a lot) after eating restaurant guacamole. Then, if she identifies restaurant guacamole as a problem, she has to make homemade guacamole and see if it causes the same trouble. It could be an additive in the restaurant version that isn’t found in real avocados. More about that below in comment #2.
o try avoiding walnuts assiduously for several weeks, and then eating a bunch to see if they upset her stomach. I’d do the same with guacamole, since she had some discomfort (once a bit, one a lot) after eating restaurant guacamole. Then, if she identifies restaurant guacamole as a problem, she has to make homemade guacamole and see if it causes the same trouble. It could be an additive in the restaurant version that isn’t found in real avocados. More about that below in comment #2.
I am also very glad to see that she is eating more fats, like avocados and peanut butter. Mostly, I am glad to see that she has stopped eating so much processed soy.
#2 Now let’s look at the times Denise talks about her stomach discomfort. If we ignore the discomfort she feels on the first day, since it is likely attributable to items she ate before she changed her diet, notice that within 2 days she feels quite well. And she remains that way for FIVE FULL DAYS!, until March 12th. What happens then?
On March 12th, Denise becomes suddenly very uncomfortable after overeating (her comment) at a Mexican restaurant, including a processed food-like item called fried ice cream. Note that she tolerated a similar menu 4 days earlier, including alcohol, but without guacamole, tostada, or fried ice cream.
The entire next day she is very uncomfortable. In her note, she attributes her discomfort to the whole wheat pasta. But look at her food log. She has already been very uncomfortable for 24 hours straight before she makes the pasta. She is still paying the price for having eaten something that upset her stomach the previous evening. What is it? It’s impossible to know. But I can almost guarantee that it wasn’t food, but rather a food-like processed item. It could have been something in the guacamole (blue food coloring?), or something in the fake ice cream, or the vegetable oil in which it was fried, or something else I have not considered.
#3 There are no comments about the state of Denise’s health from March 12th until the 15th, when she says she is ”a bit uncomfortable.” Remember that it takes approximately 3 days for food to transit through the gut. So I am going to guess that Denise continued to feel uncomfortable until whatever upset her stomach at the Mexican restaurant was finally gone, once and for all.
#4 Denise reports that she ate “almost no soy and very little cheese.” Actually, that’s not true. The BK veggie burger, for example, is made almost entirely of soy. Surprisingly, it did not upset her stomach. So it appears that she can tolerate some processed soy as long as it does not constitute a large part of her diet, like before. Denise needs to remember that every time she eats in a restaurant, every time she eats “unknown dressing,” every time she eats fried food, she is most likely eating processed oil made, at least in part, from soybeans. And/or cotton seeds.
#2 Now let’s look at the times Denise talks about her stomach discomfort. If we ignore the discomfort she feels on the first day, since it is likely attributable to items she ate before she changed her diet, notice that within 2 days she feels quite well. And she remains that way for FIVE FULL DAYS!, until March 12th. What happens then?
On March 12th, Denise becomes suddenly very uncomfortable after overeating (her comment) at a Mexican restaurant, including a processed food-like item called fried ice cream. Note that she tolerated a similar menu 4 days earlier, including alcohol, but without guacamole, tostada, or fried ice cream.
The entire next day she is very uncomfortable. In her note, she attributes her discomfort to the whole wheat pasta. But look at her food log. She has already been very uncomfortable for 24 hours straight before she makes the pasta. She is still paying the price for having eaten something that upset her stomach the previous evening. What is it? It’s impossible to know. But I can almost guarantee that it wasn’t food, but rather a food-like processed item. It could have been something in the guacamole (blue food coloring?), or something in the fake ice cream, or the vegetable oil in which it was fried, or something else I have not considered.
#3 There are no comments about the state of Denise’s health from March 12th until the 15th, when she says she is ”a bit uncomfortable.” Remember that it takes approximately 3 days for food to transit through the gut. So I am going to guess that Denise continued to feel uncomfortable until whatever upset her stomach at the Mexican restaurant was finally gone, once and for all.
#4 Denise reports that she ate “almost no soy and very little cheese.” Actually, that’s not true. The BK veggie burger, for example, is made almost entirely of soy. Surprisingly, it did not upset her stomach. So it appears that she can tolerate some processed soy as long as it does not constitute a large part of her diet, like before. Denise needs to remember that every time she eats in a restaurant, every time she eats “unknown dressing,” every time she eats fried food, she is most likely eating processed oil made, at least in part, from soybeans. And/or cotton seeds.
With regard to dairy, I see pizza, cream sauce, locatelli cheese, provolone, yogurt, cheese quesadilla, and the “ice cream.” It’s not that it’s a problem, it’s just that I want her to be more clear about what she is actually eating.
#5 Finally, Denise drinks at least one serving of alcohol most days. Alcohol happens to be highly irritating to the stomach lining, so I would be careful about that if I were having gut problems. Also, the medical research finds that women who exceed one glass daily increase their risk of negative effects from the alcohol. For men, it’s two glasses daily, so don’t try to keep up.
“Denise,” you have made great progress from a number of important standpoints. One thing I do notice, though, is that you are eating the same thing for breakfast most days. You might want to give some thought to increasing the variety of breakfast options. For example, you could choose leftovers from dinner sometimes. I don’t want you to get bored.
Keep up the good work!!
“Denise’s” Food Log
March 7
breakfast: black coffee with sugar, plain yogurt with pineapple in fruit juice, rice cakes with all natural smuckers peanut butter. Stomach okay.
lunch (restaurant): tagliaone pasta with salmon/cream sauce; chardonnay. Stomach okay.
dinner (restaurant): chopped salad of greens/walnuts/avocado/carrots (unknown dressing), margarita. Stomach fair.
March 8
breakfast: black coffee with sugar, plain yogurt with pineapple in fruit juice, rice cake with all natural smuckers peanut butter.
lunch (restaurant): tuna/provolone cheese/lettuce/tomato on white bread roll; grapes, cantaloupe, pineapple, honeydew; V8. Stomach good.
dinner (restaurant): bean burrito, cheese quesadilla, spicy cream Mexican sauce; chips and salsa; sangria. Stomach good.
March 9
breakfast: black coffee with sugar, plain yogurt with pineapple in fruit juice, rice cake with all natural smuckers peanut butter. Stomach good.
lunch (restaurant): BK veggie burger with lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mayo.
dinner (restaurant): pizza, 2 slices; white wine. Stomach good all day.
March 10
breakfast: plain yogurt with pineapple in fruit juice
lunch: pizza, 1 slice; white birthday cake with “cookies & cream” icing
dinner: pasta with garlic & oil, locatelli cheese, spices; sparkling wine. Stomach “generally felt good all day”
March 11
breakfast: blac
k coffee with sugar
lunch: celery with hummus
dinner: polenta, roasted peppers, garlic, artichokes, parsley, tomato sauce. Stomach “generally felt good all day”
March 12
breakfast: black coffee with sugar; granola sweetened with acacia (?), blueberries, strawberries; rice cake with peanut butter.
lunch: leftover polenta.
dinner (restaurant): chips, salsa, guacamole; bean burrito, cheese enchilada, tostada, lettuce, tomato; fried ice cream, margarita. Stomach felt uncomfortable.
March 13
breakfast: black coffee with sugar, plain yogurt with pineapple in fruit juice, rice cake with all natural smuckers peanut butter. Stomach still uncomfortable.
lunch: celery with hummus; canned split pea soup (with barley, onions, carrots, potatoes, celery, garlic, parsley, yeast extract, natural flavors, potato starch, lemon, citric acid, black pepper, salt); red licorice. Stomach still uncomfortable.
dinner: whole wheat pasta with homemade sauce: canned tomatoes, parsley, onion, garlic, spices; soy milk. Stomach still uncomfortable.
March 14
breakfast: black coffee with sugar, cottage cheese with pineapple; granola with almond milk, blueberries, strawberries.
lunch: “wheat bread” with hummus, spinach.
dinner: leftover ww pasta with locatelli cheese; sparkling wine.
March 15
breakfast: black coffee with sugar, plain yogurt with pineapple; granola with almond milk, blueberries. Stomach a bit uncomfortable.
“Denise’s” Food Log
March 7
breakfast: black coffee with sugar, plain yogurt with pineapple in fruit juice, rice cakes with all natural smuckers peanut butter. Stomach okay.
lunch (restaurant): tagliaone pasta with salmon/cream sauce; chardonnay. Stomach okay.
dinner (restaurant): chopped salad of greens/walnuts/avocado/carrots (unknown dressing), margarita. Stomach fair.
March 8
breakfast: black coffee with sugar, plain yogurt with pineapple in fruit juice, rice cake with all natural smuckers peanut butter.
lunch (restaurant): tuna/provolone cheese/lettuce/tomato on white bread roll; grapes, cantaloupe, pineapple, honeydew; V8. Stomach good.
dinner (restaurant): bean burrito, cheese quesadilla, spicy cream Mexican sauce; chips and salsa; sangria. Stomach good.
March 9
breakfast: black coffee with sugar, plain yogurt with pineapple in fruit juice, rice cake with all natural smuckers peanut butter. Stomach good.
lunch (restaurant): BK veggie burger with lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mayo.
dinner (restaurant): pizza, 2 slices; white wine. Stomach good all day.
March 10
breakfast: plain yogurt with pineapple in fruit juice
lunch: pizza, 1 slice; white birthday cake with “cookies & cream” icing
dinner: pasta with garlic & oil, locatelli cheese, spices; sparkling wine. Stomach “generally felt good all day”
March 11
breakfast: blac
k coffee with sugar
lunch: celery with hummus
dinner: polenta, roasted peppers, garlic, artichokes, parsley, tomato sauce. Stomach “generally felt good all day”
March 12
breakfast: black coffee with sugar; granola sweetened with acacia (?), blueberries, strawberries; rice cake with peanut butter.
lunch: leftover polenta.
dinner (restaurant): chips, salsa, guacamole; bean burrito, cheese enchilada, tostada, lettuce, tomato; fried ice cream, margarita. Stomach felt uncomfortable.
March 13
breakfast: black coffee with sugar, plain yogurt with pineapple in fruit juice, rice cake with all natural smuckers peanut butter. Stomach still uncomfortable.
lunch: celery with hummus; canned split pea soup (with barley, onions, carrots, potatoes, celery, garlic, parsley, yeast extract, natural flavors, potato starch, lemon, citric acid, black pepper, salt); red licorice. Stomach still uncomfortable.
dinner: whole wheat pasta with homemade sauce: canned tomatoes, parsley, onion, garlic, spices; soy milk. Stomach still uncomfortable.
March 14
breakfast: black coffee with sugar, cottage cheese with pineapple; granola with almond milk, blueberries, strawberries.
lunch: “wheat bread” with hummus, spinach.
dinner: leftover ww pasta with locatelli cheese; sparkling wine.
March 15
breakfast: black coffee with sugar, plain yogurt with pineapple; granola with almond milk, blueberries. Stomach a bit uncomfortable.
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