Leaky Gut Syndrome

I'm fairly new to this forum, but not new to migraines.  History on me is I have had M's since I was a teenager.  I am now 47.  My M's were almost all food related (cheddar cheese and wine being my worst triggers) and as long as I stayed away from my triggers, I maybe got one or two a year.  All my M's came with aura and their course/pain/recovery all identical.  M on day one, M hangover on day two, then done.  A year and a half ago, my M's completely changed.  I started getting them more frequently, I did not have aura, they last multiple days (longest one 6 days).  I was getting several a month and could not link it to anything.  Since September, things got drastically worse.  I have had a headache of some kind (not always migraine) every single day.  I was getting 2-4 M's per week, multiple day long, and I vomited for the first time ever with my M's on 3 occasions.  Regular doctor (not neuro) had me on Topamax, which I agreed to only while we tried to find the source of the new M's.  MRI showed (according to doctor) "evidence of migraines" - I don't even think there is such a thing.  She then wanted me to stay on the Topamax for 6-8 weeks and call her.  So...she got fired.  

I feel strongly that my issue is that my food sensitivities have changed or my hormones are crazy (at my age) - or both.  Regular doctor only wanted to throw pills at me and have me wait.

I am now with a holistic internist.  He is amazing.  He LISTENS to me and started out by running a complete series of bloodwork and took a full family history with my initial exam.  I am just beginning my treatment with him (two visits as of this writing).  My bloodwork is mostly normal except for a very low Vitamin D level (my count was 14) and low on pregnenolone (adrenal hormone).  I am taking a magnesium supplement, Vitamin D (5,000 IU 3x/day), a pregnenolone supplement, and Migrelief (supplement combo of B2, magnesium, and feverfew).  He has also asked me to eliminate gluten and dairy for 2 weeks.  At the end of 2 weeks, I am to add in gluten OR dairy and see if I notice more headaches.  Then after another week, I can add the other back in.

The reason for this (long) post is that he also explained Leaky Gut Syndrome to me.  There is no definitive test for this and it is not my diagnosis.  But, what he explained made sense to me.  Being a holistic doctor, I have several non-traditional things I am doing (affirmation/meditation, for example).  I trust this doctor right now and I am following all of his recommendations.  I also stopped ALL of my medications so nothing can cloud what is happening under his care.  

I just read Clean Gut by Alejandro Junger and I am taking my 2 week "no gluten, no dairy" rule one more step and following the Clean Gut protocol for 21 day detox and then reintroduction of the "forbidden foods."  This book is FANTASTIC and whether or not you have any plans or desire to follow the program, it is a recommended read.  VERY interesting information that makes so much sense.  

After only 3 days following it, I am noticing a very slight change that I can't quite put my finger on.  I just feel a little "better" over all.  Nothing major yet, and I realize I might just want it so badly that I am thinking I am feeling better so quickly.  I'm hoping my headaches will be reduced and while I can't say that now, I can say I haven't had a migraine yet.  I did add the probiotics and digestive enzymes the book recommended to my other supplements.

Has anyone else tried this or a similar plan for migraines?  My doctor also suggested I look at the Paleo diet, but I did not choose that one.  I wondered what your experience was, if so.  

I feel my triggers are tannins, but it will be interesting to see if gluten and dairy are culprits.  I'll post my progress here.  I'm not worried about sticking to it because my desire to not have a headache is greater than my disappointment about having to omit some of my most favorite foods (milk being #1) for a little while.

Crossing my fingers!

Jen

My best friend has always had digestion issues and nausea/vomiting her whole life.  About 5 years ago, she spontaneously began having anaphylactic reactions to vegetables.  Like... a lot of vegetables.  She had to get an Epi pen and used it at least once a week after eating a salad, or drinking V8 juice, or accidentally eating any number of about 50 different foods it seemed.  Things like cabbage, or cucumber, just generally foods that people are not allergic to and especially not at all once.

Her mom is very into holistic doctors, and the one she went to diagnosed her with leaky gut syndrome.  Now... I'm not saying this is not a real thing or that it was the wrong diagnosis.  But 5 years later and my poor friend is still struggling with which foods she can eat without having an allergic reaction.  She has become so thin that she stopped having her period.  She has developed a mental issue towards food, and mental issues in general involving a lot of anger which is understandable in her situation.

I guess what I'm saying is, her treatment has not seemed to help her.  I am not sure what I think about leaky gut syndrome.  The doctor used the ELIZA allergy test, which is not proven to be useful or to mean what it says it means.  Personally, I think, IF she has leaky gut syndrome, there is some underlying cause for it which has not been addressed by eliminating foods.

That being said... people with migraines often find improvement by eliminating foods.  Yes, foods can cause migraines.  There is no harm in trying dairy or gluten free and seeing if it helps.  But... I don't think leaky gut syndrome causes migraines.  Nobody knows what causes migraines, but it seems more like a neurological disorder involving incorrect brain signals.  I just want you to not automatically believe everything the holistic doctor says, the same way you didn't believe the regular doctor.

I also recommend you eliminate artificial food colorings, if you haven't already.  While gluten and dairy made no difference in my migraines, that did.

That's awful about your friend, Seaine.  It's so frustrating to hit dead end after dead end.  I hope she finds someone else to help her find her problem.  As for the holistic doctor who diagnosed her with Leaky Gut...to my knowledge, their is no actual diagnosis for Leaky Gut, so I would have to question that.  From what I have read so far, there is a general agreement in the medical community that your digestive system plays a bigger part in health than was thought before and that we are suppressing its natural ability to heal us with the foods we eat, our environment, and medicines.  But, no one has yet proven it, alone, as a disease, so to speak.  Eliminating foods is not really what it's about.  It's about eliminating them for a short period and then gradually reintroducing them to see what happens and in the meantime, allowing your digestive tract to do some healing.  

My doctor is a holistic internist and combines eastern and western medicine.  I will listen to him, because he is listening to me.  As you know from my other posts, I have no desire to be on a medication without first trying to find a possible cause.  He is starting at the ground level and we are working from there.  He has not diagnosed me with anything, we are exploring options.  Leaky Gut is one thing we talked about and after learning about it on my own, I am finding it to be a very interesting prospect.  Maybe I just have a good old fashioned intolerance to gluten (or something else), maybe not.  

I differ with you that I feel it can cause migraines...indirectly.  If I have an issue where my body (or my gut) is preventing me from producing or absorbing nutrients, hormones, or whatever and those things are causing my headaches, then it makes sense to fix the problem where it begins. There is a connection between your gut and neurological issues.

I'm only sharing my own experience.  I, in no way, want to simplify someone else's struggle with headaches or assume that one course of action is right for everyone.  I would recommend the book, it's very interesting - especially about systemic inflammation.  It was quite an eye opener for me.

Jen

Hi Jen,

I can not eat cheddar cheese, either. In fact, there are very few cheeses that I can eat.

While, for me, I don't think that cheddar triggers the headaches I get; it does, though, trigger severe nausea and/or vomiting if I eat more than 2 small, finely grated, strands of it. I have often wondered if it was the artificial coloring that the U.S. manufacturers add to make their cheddar cheese orange, that makes me so sick? (I do not know, but, maybe, the nausea that I get from eating cheddar cheese might be an abdominal migraine?)

Also, if I eat any cheese that has been melted, I get very sick to my stomach.

I can not stomach cream of anything soup, white sauce,or milk based gravies.

If I drink whole milk I get nauseated. If I drink skim, low-fat, or non-fat milk (or eat any of them on cereal); then I vomit 100% of the time.

Jen E wrote:Eliminating foods is not really what it's about.  It's about eliminating them for a short period and then gradually reintroducing them to see what happens and in the meantime, allowing your digestive tract to do some healing.

I wasn't clear about this in my post; that is what the doctor has her do. She eliminates foods for a time and then reintroduces them. Sometimes her allergic reactions come back, sometimes not, sometimes they occur even during the elimination stage when she's not eating more than a few foods. It seems like the reactions do not stay associated with the same foods. She has started going to different doctors lately so hopefully somebody has some new ideas.

Mule Kick wrote:I have often wondered if it was the artificial coloring that the U.S. manufacturers add to make their cheddar cheese orange, that makes me so sick?

To answer this, cheese actually does not contain any artificial coloring, with the exception of that liquid nacho "cheese" stuff. Cheddar cheese and other orange cheeses are colored with annatto, which is an extract from an orange plant. Annatto is present in many other processed foods as well to give them color. It is possible to be allergic to it, but I just wanted to point out that it's completely different from the US FD&C colors such as red #40 and yellow #5 which cause my issues.

I hope she finds some answers, Seaine.  I think we all know how frustrating finding an elusive cause can be.  I can't even imagine what she is experiencing and I hope she does find someone who will throw out all pre-conceived ideas and start from the ground up with her.  Have they explored pesticides as the issue.  Does she have the same reactions with organic veggies?  

Mule Kick, it sounds like you have a dairy allergy.  I have learned just recently about the difference between food intolerance and food allergies.  I don't believe I am allergic to any foods, but I do think I am intolerant of something in certain foods.  I never knew until two weeks ago that dairy was not tolerated by so many people other than lactose intolerance.  So much so that it's #2 on the list (behind gluten) of food suspects when people have issues.  I don't have any stomach issues, so I assumed since I was NOT lactose intolerant, that dairy was fine.  I have since learned the casein protein is a big offender and I am waiting to see if it will end up being one of my triggers.  

There is just so much to learn on all of it.  Very daunting.

Jen E wrote:I hope she finds some answers, Seaine.  I think we all know how frustrating finding an elusive cause can be.  I can't even imagine what she is experiencing and I hope she does find someone who will throw out all pre-conceived ideas and start from the ground up with her.  Have they explored pesticides as the issue.  Does she have the same reactions with organic veggies?

On the one hand, she doesn't get migraines, but on the other hand I don't think I would trade with her.  At least migraines are something doctors routinely recognize and have standard treatment options for!

Her mother, who she currently lives with, has always bought organic foods.  She's the kind of person I guess you could call a hippie, but not in a bad sense.  She saves water in the bathtub and uses it to flush the toilet, she's the first person who I'd ever seen use a toothpaste brand called Tom's of Maine which ironically I now use because it has no food coloring, and she always, ALWAYS buys everything organic and local that she can.  So I don't think that affects my friend's digestive issues.

She told me one of her recent doctors is going to test her for HIV, which I think is absolutely ridiculous since she's had digestive troubles since we were both children but hey, I guess it is a novel idea and there's no harm in it.  I've looked around on the internet a bit for her, and found a condition called mastocytosis.  It's an overproduction of mast cells in the body which results in an overactive immune system.  It's extremely rare but it's not like her symptoms are common either.  I asked her if her doctor had ever considered it or tested her for it and she said no, the doctor had always stuck with the leaky gut theory.  Unfortunately she doesn't seem to be in a state where she can ask the doctor herself about getting tested for it, which I recommended she do. I can't blame her though since it took me many years to stop just going with whatever the doctor said and look into my condition more myself.

How frustrating for her. I hope she finds someone to, again, throw out preconceived notions and start from the beginning with her. I would probably refuse the HIV test if it were me. Seems an unnecessary expense unless other things are pointing to it.

I would like to again recommened reading Clean Gut by Alejandro Junger. Don't look at it as anything other than a very enlightening read about how the body works. I am not trying to say for you or your friend to follow the detox program as I am, but the book is just amazing for learning how things are interrelated and just might give her some ideas on where to focus her own treatment.

Wish her luck for me.

Thanks for the update, Jen.

I'll look for that book. I've been told in the past (by an MD, no less), that I probably have leaky gut, but that there was no way to really test for it. Dr. Michael Klaper MD, on his website DrMichaelKlaper.com/answers/answers07/ has a protocol to help repair a leaky gut with glutamine, acidophilus, and an elimination diet. I admit I've never really tried it. Maybe I should.

I've seen so many dietary protocols to heal migraine, that it'd make your head spin, if it wasn't already from migraine!!! Dr. Joel Fuhrman has a detailed chapter on healing migraine with diet in his book on Fasting. Probably the best of the bunch.

However, here I am, still with migraine, so I can't say I've found the answer for me. I do hope you gain some useful info from your plan; it sounds reasonable. Any further followups as you continue, I'd be interested in hearing if you don't mind sharing your experiences down the road.

Good Luck for now, and hopefully you'll find a substitute for the dairy soon.

Reama

Sounds like a very informative book Jen, thanks. I am presently reading Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD which is likely similar. It talks about leaky gut syndrome also and while it only mentions migraine in passing, it is definitely one of the things that improve when gluten is removed from the diet. Not very easy to do when traveling but not too difficult at home. This book is also very informative and I highly recommend it.

I have read Wheat Belly, Kem.  That was before my migraines flared up over the last year and a half, so I was only reading it as I was looking into better nutrition.  Prior to that, I read The Happiness Diet (not a "diet", but about nutrition and processed foods), which I also liked.  Wheat Belly was very good, but I found Clean Gut to even better because it just talked about how everything works.  I have two more books to read after my talk with my doctor (these are my own choices, not his recommendations): Grain Brain by David Perlmutter and Adrenal Fatigue by James L Wilson.  I chose the Adrenal Fatigue one because I am low on one adrenal hormone and I wanted to learn more about the adrenal gland and what happens when it's not working right.  I like to understand things...kind of a learning nerd, I guess.  

What I am really looking at, for myself, is whether I have a whole bunch of things not working right and migraine is how they are manifesting.  I have not felt good for quite some time, but nothing specific until the migraines flared up.  I am approaching menopause age, so I just figured that was it.  Or my food sensitivities.  I know it is not going to be one easy answer, but I also know I don't want to treat the symptom if there is ANY way I can fix the cause.

Reama, there is a protocol in Clean Gut also and I decided on my own to follow the detox.  As you know, my dr. said no gluten and dairy for 2 weeks, then start adding them in and recording what happens.  I decided to do the detox because it includes that and it's not going to kill me to eat a strict diet for one more week than planned.  I'm only finding it hard because I have not planned my meals out yet and I am scrambling to pull together lunches for work.  I miss my milk but I am doing ok without sugar.  You can have stevia on the detox, but I don't like it, so I am sweetener-free.  I know you and I talked about food around the holidays a little on the other thread, but I don't even care!  If I have a chance of no migraines, it's worth no cookies.

I'll admit, I'll be disappointed if it has no bearing on my migraines, but I have to start somewhere!  BTW, I do have a mild headache today, but still no migraine since I started the detox.  It all remains to be seen!  

Thanks Jen. I will likely order that book when I get home, we are in the south for the winter so sometime in March. Am really trying to avoid the gluten most dairy but trying to do it while traveling is difficult. Should be at our condo tomorrow so things will get easier then except for social occasions which can be really problematic. I have been relatively headache free the last few days so that is good. Have only needed peppermint oil on my head for any bit of headache that wants to hit me.

Thanks, Jen

Hope the detox works for you; I know what you mean about being willling to do anything if it means no or significantly less migraine, but still difficult over the holidays. Do you have to give up anything besides the gluten and dairy? (besides junk food, I mean, which I'm sure most of us have already given up as it's such a common migraine trigger).

Sounds like you've got a supportive doc. Wish I had one.

Reama

I'm at the end of my first week of the detox phase that is outlined in the Clean Gut book. There are noticeable changes already, so here's the update:

Migraines: Only one this week! And...it was only a one-dayer, not the multiple day long episodes I have been having 2-3 times a week since Sept. I did need three doses of Maxalt (throughout the day, not at once) to beat it into submission and it didn't leave until I added Excedrin to the mix with the third dose. Boy, did I want my comfort "food" of a glass of milk while this was going on!! But, I stuck with the 'no dairy'.

Regular Headaches: I was headache-free for most of the day today and had two evenings this week with no headache at all. This is an improvement over my constant headache of some level every day. I go from what I call a "whisper" headache (very low level) to grading their intensity on a scale of 1-10...10 being a migraine level of pain even though it might not be a migraine. Yes, I obsess about headaches at the moment.

Other Changes: The constant pressure in my head is completely gone. GONE. I attribute this to cutting out the gluten because I stopped the gluten one week before starting this detox and I noticed a significant improvement in the constant pressure in my head after the first week of no gluten. So, technically I am 2 weeks gluten-free. The ringing in my ears is very sporadic now. I only noticed it only twice this week and it was a little higher in pitch and not the mid-level ringing I had been noticing nearly every day (I did not have constant ringing, but I noticed it off and on nearly every day).

I felt good enough today to try going to the gym for the first time since October and I took it very easy and walked 30 minutes at a normal pace on the indoor track. I have been afraid of going for fear or causing or worsening a headache. I did get a mild headache (non-migraine) when I got home and 2 (only 2!) Excedrin and a one hour nap did the trick.

I learned that I likely had a sensitivity to the spirulina powder in the morning green drink I chose on the detox. I think it could have been the migraine trigger this week. I took it out of the diet and so far, so good. Spinach will be the new green element in the AM drinks.

I do miss drinking milk A LOT. I'm hoping that if dairy does end up being one of my problem foods that it's not severe and I can have some once in a while. I'm keeping in mind that I have supplements I am taking from my doctor that could also account for these improvements, but at this time, my goal is to get these headaches under control if possible and then figure out what I need to keep doing or stop eating. Hoping for more improvements as I complete the next week. I won't miss any Christmas goodies because the possibility of no headache is a greater desire than the cookies (and I LOVE cookies).

Last, but not least. I am down a size already! I don't weigh myself, so I won't know the story until the doctor weighs me on 1/7. This is a nice side benefit.

While I am feeling very positive as I write this, I was very upset and disappointed when I got the migraine yesterday, so I know there will be ups and downs, but I don't do well at taking them in stride. Hope I have more good news next week.

Jen

Hi Jen, thanks for the update....sounds encouraging! I know what you mean, I've learned not to get my hope up too soon when I try something new, but it's hard not to. I've been gluten free now for 9 days, and haven't had a bad migraine for the last 6 of those days. I did have a bad three-day one at the beginning of going gluten free, and wondered if it was from "detoxing" from gluten.

Yeah, I love cookies too, but none for me this holiday, for the same reason. Today, for my kids' Christmas tradition, made the "dough" for dried fruit and nut balls, which in the past I have really enjoyed eating too, but as the dried fruit is almost a for-sure trigger, didn't have that, and felt emotionally deprived, but didn't really miss the taste of it, if that makes any sense.

Anyway, regarding the milk, maybe you can find a subsititute that you will come to like. If you blanch almonds, remove the skins, and blend it (high power blender best) with water, a drop or so of vanilla, and some kind of sweetener (again, just a tiny amount), you get a delicious drink. Supposedly its the skins of almonds that contain the tannins, and the actual nut-meat itself doesn't.

So, what ARE you eating??? I admit, the spirulina doesn't sound good. I tried one of those green drink powders a few years ago and couldn't barely make myself swallow it!

Wishing you well,
Reama

Basically it's protein and veggie based. They say fill your plate with 80% veggies and 20% protein source. No dairy, no gluten, no grain (limited quinoa is ok), no oats, no sugar (except stevia, which I do not like), no fruit except berries, lemon or lime. Lots of veggies (no potato, no corn) and meat. A green drink for breakfast and then meals from the approved food list for lunch/dinner. I am not hungry and I have started to need less to feel full. Forcing me to look at other veggies than I normally choose is good. Again, at the end of the detox, I start to add things in to see what, if anything, are issues for me. I am not enjoying the almond milk or coconut milk straight, but I use both in my morning drink. I could have berries for a sweet treat, but they are high in tannins and I am having trouble with them...so no sweet at all for me for 3 weeks.

Wow, that does sound detoxing...I hope it's not too uncomfortable in the beginning. Yes, it's interesting about the vegs; most vegs don't seem to trigger me at all, though I've been suspicious of corn in the past (in the form of ezekial sprouted corn tortillas, where the only ingredients are corn, lime (calcium carbonate), and a little salt).

Well, in the meantime, wish you nice (pain-free) holidays, and will look forward to how you do it you continue to not mind posting.

Reama

The trouble with corn (maize), lies in the manner in which it is stored; causing all corn to be contaminated with mold, whether or not you can see it. (When I eat corn, I can often taste the mold.)   

The mold produces aflatoxin, which is a known carcinogen.

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20131001/Mexican-scientists-reveal-aflatoxins-relationship-with-cervical-and-liver-cancer-in-humans.aspx

http://www.dnalc.org/view/988-Causes-mold.html

http://blackmold.awardspace.com/aflatoxin-mycotoxins.html

Jen, your plan sounds very promising and Mule Kick, that is interesting and new info to me. It it possible that much grain is stored the same way and might have the same mold problem? Hmmm that might be part of the issue with grains in general.

I am still eating gf and was doing well for about 4 days till about 2 this morning when I woke up with a bad migraine. I did eat a small piece of unsweetened chocolate yesterday evening and am wondering if that triggered the migraine. Sometimes I can eat chocolate with no problem so just not sure.

I've completed the second full week of the Clean Gut detox (plus one extra week of gluten-free before that) and things continue to change and improve!  

No migraines this week!  ZERO!  I have not had any middle-of-the-night headaches that wake me up at 3am (before, an almost nightly occurrence).  I have not gone completely headache-free for a whole day yet, but I can now say for certain that most of my waking hours are free of a headache and the ones I am getting are mild to moderate (with all but two being mild).

THIS.  IS.  HUGE.  There was no way before for me to tell what foods or things might be triggering my headaches because I ALWAYS had one.  Now, I can think about what I have done or eaten prior to the headaches I am getting to see if they are a trigger.  For example, one day this week I was feeling good (imagine that!) ALL day.  I woke up with no headache and made it almost all day through work.  Suddenly at around 3pm, I noticed my nose got stuffy and I could feel a headache coming on (more about the stuffy nose later).  I couldn't think of what I had eaten to trigger a headache as I have not cheated on the detox at all.  I googled "migraine triggers" just for the heck of it (not that I haven't googled it a gazillion times before) and everything but one thing was on my detox-forbidden list except one....CITRUS.  What???  Never heard of this!  I had been drinking lemon water all day!  The good news is now I can at least TEST it!  I don't know if lemon was my trigger, but now I can remove it from my diet and then reintroduce it and see if there is any connection.  This would not have been possible if I had a headache 100% of the time.

Remember, I am also on a couple of supplements from my doctor that are not related to this detox...Vitamin D, B2/Feverfew//Mg, and a separate Magnesium supplement.  These could very well have bearing on my successes - maybe all of it.  Who knows.  I don't care!  The most important thing is...SOMETHING is working!

I have walked the track at my Y every morning for over a week, so I am easing exercise back into my life and that feels good, too.  The ringing in my ears is completely gone.  And...the black circles under my eyes are fading and shrinking.  FINALLY.  They had gotten so dark and long.  My nose is also only stuffy on occasion.  I had been stuffy all the time and regularly blew my nose with blood in the mix (gross, but important to track).  I now notice when I DO get a headache, it is coming with a stuffy nose and when the headache is more painful...blood in the mix.

To me, all these things show I am intolerant to SOMETHING.  The next step is one more week of detox and then I start adding foods in for a couple of days at a time, then recording what happens, then a few days of detox in between, then testing out another possible trigger.  I do know that I had some immediate pain relief in the first week I removed gluten (before the detox), and I am feeling I will probably NOT add gluten back into my diet at all.  I don't miss it.  I am a little worried when it comes to testing out the dairy (because of my love of milk), but I am doing ok without that as well.  

Having read the book and understanding WHY I have to remove so many foods while in the detox phase has made it much easier to do than if I just changed my diet.  I have not and will not cheat on it because losing the progress I have made would be very upsetting.  In fact, I'm almost afraid to add anything back in, because I actually feel GOOD most of the time now!

We will see!  Next apt with my doctor isn't until Jan. 7th and I will have tested some potential triggers by then.  I'll post an update after the detox is done and I start testing triggers.  

Again, I recommend the Clean Gut book to everyone - even if you have no intention of following the detox or changing your diet.  It's an eye opener.

Jen

just to give a little more information, (not to be a wet blanket, but here goes.....)

i fasted for 18 days on water at a northern california clinic.  this was 20 years ago.  i had a background headache the entire time, and the minute i started to eat food again, lovingly prepared raw juices and salads, my migraines came slamming back.  

fasting is NOT the answer for most of us.  i lost weight from a very slim 110 down to 92 pounds, (5 feet 4) and it took me a year to re-gain the weight so i didn't look skeletal.  

it was an interesting experience, but definitely not a cure for anything that i observed while at the clinic.  fasting is a radical thing to try, perhaps for end-stage cancer or other diseases for which there is no hope.  imho.  dianne

Hi Dianne.  I am not fasting.  This is a detox that is very full of food!!!  Mostly veggies and protein.  I am never hungry and feel full and satisfied with all of my healthy meals.  I don't think fasting is safe.

The detox removes gluten, dairy, sugar, grains and ALL processed food.  You eat meals you make and fill your plate with 80% veggies and 20% protein.  

Jen

jen, i know you are not fasting.  reama mentioned a book on fasting, and that's what i was responding to.

sorry; i was only on page 1 of this discussion; with a bad head today, i didn't realize there was a page 2!!  

i gave up sugar in all forms, including fruit, for 10 years.  therefore, i ate LOTS of grains.  my migraines were not daily then, and it didn't help the killer ones, which put me to bed for 2 days.

i think i'm gonna give up sugar again, (though i really eat very little compared with many people) but not fruit.  maybe i'll feel better.  one never knows until one tries.  none of these "diets" are easy, but with the motivation of less pain, they are very do-able.  believe me, i've done a BUNCH.  dianne

Dianne, gotcha.  Have you seen this from Mule Kick?  Have you tried eliminating grain?  

Mule Kick wrote:The trouble with corn (maize), lies in the manner in which it is stored; causing all corn to be contaminated with mold, whether or not you can see it. (When I eat corn, I can often taste the mold.)   

The mold produces aflatoxin, which is a known carcinogen.

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20131001/Mexican-scientists-reveal-aflatoxins-relationship-with-cervical-and-liver-cancer-in-humans.aspx

http://www.dnalc.org/view/988-Causes-mold.html

http://blackmold.awardspace.com/aflatoxin-mycotoxins.html

yes, have been paleo for a time, but i never could stick with it very long. i'm too exhausted to cook much when i come home from work. yes, still working; age 73 and can never quit :-(

anatomical problems in my head seem to prevent me from ever finding a solution. hey, i'm used to it by now; going on 45 years. eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek. life is still good. dianne