Ankylosing Spondylitis : Diet + Remission

A brief summary of what I eat and what I can not eat..

==== The foods I react to are: ====

==== Foods that are safe are: ====

=== Iodine Testing ===

=== A.S. Food Ranking - The Procedure ===

This section is only for sufferers on Ankylosing Spondylitis.

I have been trying to rank foods on a 0 to 5 scale for the last month or two. I will start listing out some of my results here. A ranking of 0 means that the food causes me no inflammation, whilst 5 would be the worst inflammation possible. (The scale may be extended in future to zero to ten)

==== the procedure ====
I can get 100% relief if I stick to fresh fruit, vegetables, greens, tomato, eggs and meat for three days or so. Once you have reached this pain free state by the use of diet restriction all that you have to do is add one food every day or two and make note of how much pain that food caused. Typically you will notice an increase in pain within the next 5 hours. Depending on the food, you may find that the worst pain is 24 hours after eating the offending food.

I repeat, in order for your results to be accurate and useful you must restrict your diet to the point that you are almost 100% free of inflammation in order for the results to be accurate and useful. What is more, if I take NSAID's or other anti-inflammatory drugs, then these will mask any possible food reactions and once more give inaccurate results.

The results of my testing are here (click this link)

Key:

• 0 : No pain (ie: no inflammation). These foods are safe.
• 1 : Almost no pain. These foods cause very slight inflammation in me. Most people will be able to tolerate these foods without any real trouble. Still able to run and sleep without trouble
• 2 : Mild pain. Some stiffness after prolonged inactivity which eases after walking or taking a hot/cold shower.
• 3 : Moderate pain.
• 4 : Considerable pain
• ** : I believe this food / supplement reduces inflammation.
• *** : This food / supplement consistently reduces inflammation.
• +++ : Improvement in other related health problems was experienced.
• !! : This food reduces my ability to tolerate starchy foods.
  
• Lax : Has laxative properties. The quicker food is eliminated the sooner you find pain relief from dietary changes.
• Const : Has a constipating effect. The slower food is eliminated the longer you will wait before getting relief.
• ?: This food needs more testing. For example: "0-1?" Means that the food causes either no pain, or very little pain and I would like to do further testing.

Food	Rank	Details
Alcohol	2-3 !! ?	Others find alcohol to be completely safe. I don't really know why I react to this. (Interestingly I think I also react to vinegar..). Actually I think maybe this just makes me more sensitive to starch rather than being the actual cause of inflammation (?)
Almonds, Blanched / Almond Meal	0	These are safe. Almond meal / blanched almonds are both safe since the almond skin has been removed (blanched almonds are just normal almonds without their skins). Weird isn't it to react to that little bit of skin!. Thanks go to Ted LaMonty for figuring this one out. Almond meal is a useful replacement for wheat flour. When used to bake muffins,etc you need to mix in some egg in order to bind it.
Almonds, Raw	1	Almost safe. Most people should have no problems with this. If I eat a large quantity of almonds with their skins (eg.100 grams) then I will get some slight pain (this time it was in my back-side) ... Ted thinks it may cause him to have a stiff neck if he has too many. Almond flour can be used in place of wheat flour to make a starch free bread. Almonds have a huge amount of Dietary Fibre in them and therefore provide an excellent protection against weed organisms such as Candida. Unfortunately whole nuts (and some other nuts?) have a tendency to cause mild eczema in me. I believe that this is due to the abrasiveness of the nuts.. when eaten whole they produce sharp and abrasive particles which my poor unhealthy gut was not able to withstand. Experiment: If you do react to Almonds then try soaking them in water for 24 hours and popping the skins off.
Apples	0	Season: Autumn Safe when in season.
Apple Cider Vinegar (malic acid)	1-3	Apple cider vinegar is similar to normal vinegar (eg. wine vinegar, white vinegar, balsanic vinegar, etc). Normal vinegar contains ascetic acid and apple cider vinegar apparently contains more malic acid.
Avocado	2?	Needs testing. Ted said he reacted very badly to this food. I think I may have also reacted to this when I tried it once. Gingann also reacted ( ref )
Aloe Vera	0 Lax **
Baba Ganouj	0	Safe. Check there are no starch thickeners, gums, etc.
Bamboo Shoots	0-1?	Quite Safe. No significant reactions so far. May be completely safe.
Bocconcini	0?	Appears to be safe. Had no reaction the last time I ate this.
Brazil Nuts	2-3	These cause me moderate pain, others seem to tolerate them quite well.
Broccoli	0 **	Not recommended for those with IBS due to sulfur content causing wind in some IBS sufferers.
Brussel Sprouts	0 Lax ***	I find these decrease my inflammation considerably. Boil and eat 2 or 3 just before going to bed and you should wake up feeling quite good. Perhaps due to Glutamine, or Sulphur content. Glutamine is beneficial for gut healing, eg: 'leaky gut'. These sprouts are related to cabbage and therefore may not be good for IBS. You get used to the taste, but if you really can't stand them then try eating heaps of cabbage.
Butter	0	No pain so far. I can not mix butter with sugar as it brings on my iritis (eye inflammation) and enthesitis (a type of inflammation which occurs in my hands, knees and feet) I have been very wary of this since it is derived from dairy, and all other dairy foods that I have tested have caused pain. However coconut cream and olive oil are better for the heart and cholesterol than butter. Ghee would be even safer than butter as it has far less of the milk proteins than butter.
Cabbage	0 Lax?	See Greens, and Brussel Sprouts. Good source of glutamine. Not recommended for those with IBS due to sulfur content causing wind in some IBS sufferers.
Capsicum	0	Season: Summer? Should be completely safe. I don't eat much capsicum so I honestly don't know.
Caramels	2-3	Butter and sugar are not safe when mixed. Cocnut Cream is also a problem when mixed with lots of sugar. The reaction is strongest when the food is hot or syrupy. Mixing dairy, butter or coconut with sugar brings on my iritis (eye inflammation) and enthesitis (a type of inflammation which occurs in my hands, knees and feet)
Carrots	1?	Season: Winter
Carrot Juice	0 *** Lax?	I think I can even tolerate a little starch after drinking this?? Needs to be made fresh. I have bought pasteurised carrot juice and it didn't work. My recollection is that even fresh raw juice lost it's effectiveness after a few days in the fridge, why that would be I do not know. Don't bother buying this in a supermarket unless you can see the m make it right then and there. See: Raw Juices
Cauliflower	0	Season: Autumn
Cheese (old)	1-2 Const?	Hard cheeses that are well aged and strong taste are the safest. Young soft cheeses are (apparently) not tolerated very well. Maximum inflammation is experienced 24 hours after eating cheese / dairy products. After eating a large amount (130 grams) of hard cheese I had only some very mild enthesitis (heel pain), and possibly a small amount of eczema.
Chicken	0
Chocolate	0-1	My response: slight hand pain, mild hip pain - this reaction was from dark chocolate that had no milk powder and no milk solids, although it did have some butter / butter oil Other people find dark chocolate to be well tolerated. Avoid milk chocolate as it contains powdered milk, even better if you can find a product with no dairy content at all (see caramels). I would go for the purest chocolate that you can get eg: 70% cocoa
Coconut Cream	0	I can not mix coconut with sugar as it brings on my iritis (eye inflammation) and enthesitis (a type of inflammation which occurs in my hands, knees and feet)
Coconut fibre (desiccated coconut)	0 ** Lax?	Good for making 'coconut macaroons'. Beware the preservative which is often added to this as it makes me tired and grumpy. The products found in chinese grocers is likely the best quality and least preservatives (some list no preservatives at all, or perhaps they just don't bother to list them).
Coconut Flour	0	A useful replacement for wheat flour. When used to bake muffins,etc you need to mix in some egg in order to bind it.
Coffee	2-3	some foot pain (enthesitis), mildly worsened back and hip pain. Coffee is unusual as in the first few hours after drinking coffee it can actually reduce pain (probably some kind of adrenal / cortisol response), and then several hours later the AS is gradually worsened.
Dairy	2-3 Const?	milk, yoghurt, cheese, etc Cassein is more likely to be the problem. Lactose is not the problem since (a) yoghurt still causes pain, and (b) lactose free milk still causes pain. Kiwi's husband is an example of this form of dairy intolerance. Milk when cooked causes iritis attacks in me. eg: powdered milk, instant hot chocolate, protein powders, cappuccino, etc. Other dairy is still a problem but even worse when cooked or powdered. Gypsy also said she had problems with dairy: "I noticed a difference right away with dairy. (milk, etc, stuffed me up and I felt horrible) " Some people find that their bowel movements slow down when they eat dairy, and this will prolong any inflammation caused by food intolerance.
Dates, dried	0	Should be safe. I can only eat a small amount of these. If I eat too much I feel unwell (no inflammation though). I previously believed I reacted to dates (despite negative results on the iodine test). I guessed that some dates are picked when not quite ripe (?). Howeven now I believe it was the nuts I was eating them with that caused the inflammation.
Dried fruits (non-starchy)	0	Most kinds of dried fruit are safe and non-starchy. Never had any AS inflammation with these: sultanas, currants, apricots, figs, dates, etc. Probably because they are picked when ripe for best flavour (ie: no starch). I avoid the dried fruits that have preservatives added (I am a little bit sensitive). I had some unusual health problems related to gut dysbiosis (tense muscles, itchy, fatigue, cheesy smell in my mouth) that would worsen when eating lots of very sweet foods.. after adding yoghurt to my diet this problem cleared right up. see also : fruits, yoghurt
Eggs	0 Const?
Egg plant	0	AKA: Aubergine. Apparently safe. Practically zero starch. Season: summer. Probably safest when in season (likely to have the least starch then).
Fish	0 **?
FOS and Inulin	2-4	Inulin feeds beneficial bacteria in the gut and is genereally considered to be very beneficial. This can cause a good deal of pain when eaten in large amounts. However not everyone reacts to FOS or Inulin so give onions / asparagus a go once the inflammation has gone. Reaction is within about 3 hours and lasts about 48 hours. Found in onions, unripe bananas, artichoke, etc. Inulin content data from here: Onion (2-6%), Garlic (9-16%), Leek (3-10%), Banana (0.3-0.7%), Asparagus (10-15%), Jerusalem artichokes (15-20%), Chicory (13-20%),and even wheat (1-4%). FOS = fructo-oligosaccharide
Figs	0-1?	Unlike sultanas, I get quite tense after eating figs. I think there is a slight reaction? Tested -ve with the iodine test.
Fruits (no-starch)	0 ** ?	Fruits are an important source of carbohydrates for the NSD. I recommend grapes, pears, apples, peaches, oranges, ... Pears and grapes have always been safe for me. I tend to avoid banana's as they are starchy until they are over ripe and spotty. There is some excellent information about fruit here: http://www.victoriapacking.com/fruitinfo.html Be careful with unripe fruits as some cause inflammation when unripe - Dragonslayer said something which seems to hit the mark "peaches (and all fruit with bitter almond seed) should be sample tested (by the batch; not each one), since they can contain a serious and virulent form of starch if harvested too early." According to DFB you need 50 to 100 grams of carbohydrates per day, and since you are no longer eating starch, you must therefore eat plenty of fruit and dried fruit.
Fruits (starchy)	1-3	Unripe fruits / Starchy fruits Reactions vary from fruit to fruit. Bad when unripe: Bananas, Plums (?), Peaches, Nectarines, Mango? The following are always safe: Pears, Grapes, and.. (more to come :-)) Dragonslayer said something which seems to hit the mark "peaches (and all fruit with bitter almond seed) should be sample tested (by the batch; not each one), since they can contain a serious and virulent form of starch if harvested too early."
Garlic	0-1	Well known for it's healing properties. The Inulin content of garlic will feed beneficial bacteria (prebiotic). The Inulin can cause me some very mild inflammation. Fortunately it only takes a small amount to add a lot of flavour :-).. and those small amounts I have found I can tolerate quite well. Most people with AS probably have no reaction to garlic at all. See: FOS and Inulin (above). There are other people who, like me, can not tolerate much of the FOS / Inulin that is found in garlic, onions, leek, asparagus, artichokes, chicory, banana, wheat..etc (ref a)
Ginger	0-1 ***
Galangal	0-1 ***
Grains	4	Grains in general are not safe. Avoid: wheat, corn, oats, rye, etc. The less the grain is processed the better it is tolerated, eg: bread causes strong inflammation but coarse ground semolina is not so bad when eaten almost raw. Wheat causes hand / knee / heel pain (enthesitis) in me regardless of whether I eat bread or semolina. Rice is an exception and is quite safe).
Grapes	0	Always safe. Even safe when not in season. Season: Autumn
Greens	0 ***	Especially leafy greens - spinach, lettuce, bok choi, choi sum, cabbage, etc.
Halva	2-3?	I believe I reacted quite badly to this! Need to give it another test. Reaction is most likely due to the camelisation of the sugars or the use of 'halawa root extract'. When tested with iodine this gave a -ve result (no starch). If you do buy this then try one that does not contain halawa root extract.
Hazelnut	0	Safe. One of the few nuts that has an alkaline renal acid load. AKA: Filbert
Inulin		Not safe. See: FOS
Legumes	3-4	beans, lentils, chickpeas, soy, etc
Lemons	0 **?	Safe. Possibly healing (see ref-a )
Linseed (AKA: flaxseed)	1-2?	Not sure if this is safe for AS?. Needs more testing. I think the reaction wasn't too big. I did however have some mild conjunctivitis, which is a symptom of reiter's syndrome (related to AS).
Meat	0
Macadamias	1-2?	Most people find this to be safe. Definitely worsens my eczema and I am almost certain it worsens my AS.
Maltodextrin	2-4	Not safe. See thread ..
Mustard Powder	0	Pure mustard powder is safe. However I can not use the mustard sauces as they contain vinegar.
Nuts (safe, low starch)	0	Most nuts are not safe. The safest nuts include: pine nuts, macadamias, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, hazelnuts, ...
Nuts (unsafe)	2-3	Unsafe nuts include: cashews, chestnuts, peanuts (Peanuts are in fact a legume)
Oils	0	Vegetable oils, lard, etc are safe as they contain no starch.
Olives	0 ***	Olive spreads / dips are yummy :-). Olives seem to help with relieve my eczema.
Onions	3-4	Pain is due to Inulin / FOS content. See: FOS, Roots
Pears	0	Season: Autumn Always safe - seem to be safe even when out of season. The wonderful thing about pears is that they will continue to ripen after they are removed from the tree.
Pecans	1-2	Only a mild reaction.
Pepita (Pumpkin Seeds)	0	These should be safe. Do not eat the shells as they are starchy (they react to iodine).
Pine Nuts	0?	Very safe. Have not noticed any reactions yet.
Pistachios	2-3	I have moderate pain after eating about 2 or 3 handfuls of pistachios. Small amounts would be tolerable. Other people seem to tolerate pistachios well (??).
Potato Chips	3-4	Ate about 100 grams. Reaction started in about 4 hours. Next morning my neck was so inflamed that I could barely turn my head.
Potatoes	3-4	You could try baking zucchini in its place although the taste and texture are both quite different.
Pumpkin	0-2	Season: Autumn In summer I tested a pumpkin and it reacted strongly to the iodine - therefore starchy. I wonder if they will be safer when in season. I previously thought these were safe. For Low Starch Diet these would be an excellent replacement for potato, sweet potato, etc. High in beta carotene. Much safer than sweet potato, potato, etc. (safer than carrots,?) Dotyisle: this caused him inflammation. The starch content in food table says that pumpkin is extremely low in starch. Kiwi said it failed the iodine starch test. There is likely to be some seasonal variation in starch levels. Pumpkin are closely related to squash and zucchini. According to Leigh the 'summer squash' varieties are safest and have thin skins eg: zucchini and yellow squash. However the 'winter squash' varieties usually cause more stiffness and have thicker skins eg: "pumpkins, acorn squash, hubbard squash, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, and a zillion other lesser-known varieties".
Psyllium Husks	?	May not be safe. Reportedly tests +ve on iodine test (ref-A) ..
Raw Vegetable Juices	0 ***	Most raw juices seem to be very beneficial. Experiment with this! Carrot juice definitely helps. Don't be afraid to add some fruit to the juicer, eg: apoples, pears, etc.
Rice, Brown	0-1 Lax	Dotyisle finds this to be safer than white rice. Probably less Candida than with white rice due to greater content of dietary fibre. Quite safe when in moderation.
Rice, white	1	Rice is perhaps an unusual exception to the 'no starch' rule. Seems quite safe for me, certainly no big reactions with AS. Best to eat in moderation. Bismati and long grain are both good. I need to eat plenty of greens with rice to avoid Candida - too much rice brings on a fungal infections. Some people have trouble with rice (?) but none the less I would recommend it to people starting the NSD as a replacement for the usual staples of pasta, potatoes, etc.
Roots	3-4	Onions, Potato, Sweet Potato, etc Onions are not safe for me! Replace potato with steamed carrots and pumpkin. Replace onions and garlic with chives, shallots, and garlic chives (I recommend growing your own garlic for this!)
Sauces (starch-free)	0	I reccommend: soy sauce, sweet soy, Lingham's thai chilli sauce (no preservatives).tomato puree, fish sauce, wasabi, real mayonnaise (no thickeners), etc. Be careful with sauces as most of them are not safe these days due to added thickeners, dairy, etc I can not eat sauces that contain vinegar as I react to this.
Spices	0-1	eg: oregano, basil, thyme, mint, chilli, etc. I usually stick to the spices that are from leaves as they have no starch and are therefore the safest. Some spices are derived from nuts and seeds and really are quite starchy, but we use so little of the spice that the reaction is marginal.
Sulfur containing foods	-	Not recommended for those with IBS due to sulfur content causing wind in some IBS sufferers. Foods high in sulfir: broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and cabbage, eggs, plants in the mustard family (thanks to Jan)
Sultanas	0
Sunflower Seeds	1-2	I think I reacted to these. When tested with iodine these give a +ve reaction, although they react quite slowly -- have to leave them in iodine for about an hour. Dotyisle + PattyG can not tolerate sunflower seeds.
Semolina	2?	See grains. Made from wheat but far more coarsely ground then flour. Semolina is much safer than bread which just goes to show that processing of foods does tend to do more harm then good.
Sesame seeds	0	Quite safe. No noticeable problems yet. Ground black sesame with currants is a very yummy desert. Better than ice cream in my opinion,
Soy milk	3-4	Soy milk is starchy. Unlike tofu (which is starch free).. soy milk has not had the starch content removed.
Tahini	0?	No reactions noticed yet.
Tofu	0	Safe despite being derived from a legume due to the processing method which removes crude fibre and soluble starch. Tofu comes in many forms suchas hard todu, soft tofu, and tofu skin. Hard tofu is a decent alternative to meat. Soft tofu (silen smooth) is good for deserts (eg: served with boiled pears). Tofu skin is good in soups, deserts (and almost everywhere else) and very handy as you don't need to put it in the fride and can store it in the cupboard for months or even years.
Tomato	0	Season: Summer Bottled tomato puree is ok - although usually test +ve with the iodine test so be careful. If you buy pasta sauce make sure that it has no onions or other rubbish. Beware of fresh tomatoes that are out of season as they can be quite starchy.
TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein)	0-1	This is a vegetarian replacement for minced beef. Made from soy flour.. I have tried this (I tried the sanitarium brand) and it is quite safe if made correctly. No big reactions so far. When tested with iodine it gave a slight reaction. You should rinse the TVP in hot water a number of times to get rid of as much excess starch as possible. Do not consume the water used for rinsing as it really is quite starchy.
Vegetables (starch-free)	0	Cauliflower, Broccoli, Cucumber, etc see also: Greens
Vinegar (wine vinegar, ascetic acid)	0-2 !! ?	Lemon juice is a good substitute (citric acid content gives a similar taste). Can also buy citric acid in most supermarkets in the baking section near the baking soda, etc. I have an increase in pain after eating foods with vinegar. Jan (who doesn't have AS?) said "I have problems with some forms of acidity, such as wine vinegar (ascetic acid), but not apple cider vinegar (malic acid)". This problem probably crops up when the gut lining is in very poor health and is not strong enough to withstand the acidity.. .. or perhaps this is due to a sensitivity to yeast derived foods?? Similar beviour to alcohol ? (see: Alcohol)
Walnut	1-2	Mild to moderate inflammation after eating a handful or so.
Wasabi	0-1?	Quite Safe. No significant reactions so far. May be completely safe.
Wheatgerm	0-1 **? Lax	Seems to improve my ability to tolerate starch foods. Also seems to speed up recovery time after eating starchy food.
Yoghurt	0-1 +++	Quite Safe. No big negative reactions so far. Make absolutely sure there are no starchy additives such as thickeners, or other weird additives like inulin.. better to be safe. I believe there was some very mild inflammation for the first few days whent added yoghurt into my diet. My body quickly adjusted to yoghurt and it greatly improved my ability to tolerate sweet foods (relieves candida/fungal issues, see: Dried Fruit). Also my concentration improved a great deal whilst eating this (some people with AS find that they can not concentrate, have 'brain fog', are forgetful, etc). This is very important for me as a major part of my work is programming and my ability to function at work is seriously damaged when I experience 'brain fog'. Like other fatty foods I find it best no to eat this with sweet foods.
Zucchini	0	Season: Summer Safe. Dotyisle and others find them to be ok.

I used the Xinha HTML editor to build this table, so why not build your own:
http://xinha.raimundmeyer.de/x_examples/ext_example.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

==== comments ====
For various reasons some foods have only an approximate value. Usually because I was in mild inflammation at the time that I tested it, or for other foods because I have not eaten them in a very long time. At other times it is because the scale is very subjective and I will for example say that the food caused mild to moderate pain and therefore give a rank of 2 to 3 (such a range will be listed as 2-3).

==== the results ====

= zero : these are safe foods =

• Greens
  especially leafy greens - spinach, lettuce, bok choi, choi sum, cabbage, etc.
• Vegetables
  Cauliflower, Broccoli, Cucumber, etc
  
• Brussel Sprouts
  I find these decrease my inflammation considerably. Perhaps due to Glutamine, or Sulpur content. Glutamine is beneficial for gut healing, eg: 'leaky gut'. These sprouts are related to cabbage and therefore may not be good for IBS. You get used to the taste, but if you really can't stand them then try eating heaps of cabbage.
  
• Meat
• Eggs
• Fruits
  Fruits are an important source of carbohydrates for the NSD. I recommend grapes, pears, apples, peaches, oranges, ... Pears and grapes have always been safe for me. I tend to avoid banana's as they are starchy until they are over ripe and spotty.
  There is some excellent information about fruit here: http://www.victoriapacking.com/fruitinfo.html
  Be careful with unripe fruits as some cause inflammation when unripe - Dragonslayer said something which seems to hit the mark "peaches (and all fruit with bitter almond seed) should be sample tested (by the batch; not each one), since they can contain a serious and virulent form of starch if harvested too early."
  According to DFB you need 50 to 100 grams of carbohydrates per day, and since you are no longer eating starch, you must therefore eat plenty of fruit and dried fruit.
  
• Spices
  eg: oregano, basil, thyme, mint, chilli, etc.
  I usually stick to the spices that are from leaves as they have no starch.
• Sauces
  soy sauce, sweet soy, Lingham's thai chilli sauce (no preservatives). tomato puree, fish sauce, wasabi, real mayonnaise (no thickeners), etc.
  Be careful with sauces as most of them are not safe these days due to added thickeners, dairy, etc
  
• Tofu
  Safe despite being derived from a legume due to the processing method which removes crude fibre and soluble starch.
  
• Tomato
  for instance bottled tomato puree is great. If you buy pasta sauce make sure that it has no onions or other rubbish. Beware of fresh tomatoes that are out of season as they can be starchy.
  
• Coconut Cream
  
• Oils
  Vegetable oils, etc are safe
• Dried fruits
  figs, dates, currants, etc.
• Some nuts
  Most nuts are not safe. The safe nuts include: macadamias, sesame, pine nuts, almonds
• Almonds
  Definitely no big reaction so far. Seems very safe, still testing but so far very good. Ted thinks it may cause him to have a stiff neck if he has too many. Almond flour can be used in place of wheat flour to make a starch free bread. Almonds have a huge amount of Dietary Fibre in them and therefore provide an excellent protection against weed organisms such as Candida.
  Unfortunately almonds cause mild eczema in me.
• Butter
  No pain so far. I have been very wary of this since it is derived from dairy, and all other dairy foods that I have tested have caused pain. However coconut cream and olive oil are better for the heart and cholesterol than butter.
  
• 
  
• 0-1 Shredded coconut fibre (desiccated coconut)
  Beware the preservative which is added to this as it makes me tired and grumpy.
• 0-1? Pumpkin : an excellent food for me. High in beta carotene. Much safer than sweet potato, carrots, potato, etc.
  Dotyisle: this caused him inflammation. The starch content in food table says that pumpkin is extremely low in starch. Kiwi said it failed the iodine starch test.
  Pumpkin are closely related to squash and zucchini. Acoording to Leigh the 'summer squash' varieties are safest and have thin skins eg: zucchini and yellow squash. However the 'winter squash' varieties usually cause more stiffness and have thicker skins eg: "pumpkins, acorn squash, hubbard squash, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, and a zillion other lesser-known varieties".
  
• Carrot Juice
• 0-1 White Rice
  Rice is perhaps an unusual exception to the 'no starch' rule. Seems quite safe for me, certainly no big reactions. Best to eat in moderation. Bismati and long grain are both good. I need to eat plenty of greens with rice to avoid Candida - too much rice brings on a fungal infections. Some people have trouble with rice (?) but none the less I would recommend it to people starting the NSD as a replacement for the usual staples of pasta, potatoes, etc.
  March 2005 : Strange. I cut out rice and now I am finally able to put on weight. Perhaps the Candida is ruining my digestion.
• ...
  

= 1 : little pain =

• 1-2? Carrots raw / cooked
• 1-2? Yoghurt
  Dotyisle said he "cut out the yogurt and feels like a new me again"
• Chocolate
  slight hand pain, mild hip pain - this reaction was from dark chocolate that had no milk powder and no milk solids
  
• Coffee
  some foot pain (enthesitis), mildly worsened back and hip pain.
  Coffee is unusual as in the first few hours after drinking coffee it can actually reduce pain (probably some kind of cortisol response), and then several hours later the AS is gradually worsened.
  

= 2 : mild pain =

• 1-3 Unripe fruits / Starchy fruits
  Reactions vary from fruit to fruit.
  Bad when unripe: Bananas, Plums (?), Peaches?, Nectarines?, Mango?
  The following are always safe: Pears, Grapes, ...
  Dragonslayer said something which seems to hit the mark "peaches (and all fruit with bitter almond seed) should be sample tested (by the batch; not each one), since they can contain a serious and virulent form of starch if harvested too early."
• 1-2 Red Lentils (soaked + rinsed)
  Try to remove as much of the soluble starch as possible: Rinse well in hot water during and after cooking.
  Observations are: Moderate heel pain, shoulder pain. Mild lower back pain when sleeping. Back, ribs, neck were fine during day.
  
• 1-3 Brazil Nuts
  These cause me moderate pain, others seem to tolerate them well.
  
• 2-3 Potatoes
• 1-2 Sunflower seeds
  Dotyisle + PattyG can not tolerate sunflower seeds. I think DragonSlayer finds them ok.
  

= 3 : moderate pain =

• 2-5 Potato Chips
• Alcohol
• 2-4 Buckwheat
• ? Mustard : retest this. Vinegar seems to be an issue for me?
• Dairy
  milk, yoghurt, cheese, etc
  Cassein is more likely to be the problem. Lactose is not the problem since (a) yoghurt still causes pain, and (b) lactose free milk still causes pain. Kiwi's husband is an example of this form of dairy intolerance.
  

= 4 : considerable pain =
NB: I will stop here and just list out the worst offenders

• Grains
  wheat, corn, oats, rye (except for rice which is quite safe)
• Legumes
  beans, lentils, chickpeas, soy, etc
• Roots
  Onions, Potato, Sweet Potato, etc
  Onions are not safe for me!
  
• FOS and Inulin
  this can cause a great deal of pain. Found in onions, unripe bananas, artichoke, etc. Inulin content data from here : Onion (2-6%), Garlic (9-16%), Leek (3-10%), Banana (0.3-0.7%), Asparagus (10-15%), Jerusalem artichokes (15-20%), Chicory (13-20%), and even wheat (1-4%).
  FOS = fructo-oligosaccharide
• Beer : some find beer ok.. and others like me react to it..
  
• Soy milk. Unlike tofu soy milk has not had the starch content removed.
  
• Milk when cooked : causes iritis attacks in me. eg: powdered milk, instant hot chocolate, protein powders, cappuccino, etc. Other dairy is still a problem but even worse when cooked or powdered.
  
• Donuts : *serious* pain
• Avacado : needs testing. Ted said he reacted very badly to this food.

you can skip this post folks, boooring .. :-)

==== I wish to further test the following ====

• Cottage Cheese. Dragon finds this to be ok.
  
• Peas. Dragonslayer reckons some varieties are ok. Otherwise known as 'petit-pois'
  
• Carrots. Try skinning these
• tempe
• baby corn. apparently has almost no starch
• pumpkin
• fruit and nuts. Perhaps nuts are safer on their own. I believe that I may react moderately when nuts are mixed with sweet foods. Would not be surprising as mixing protein, fat and sugar all at once is surely going to feed unfriendly gut flora. Similar to what happens when mixing butter or cream with sugar..
  
• green beans
• zuchini
• wine, vinegar, etc - need more testing
  vinegar is so common in condiments, so must be tested!
  
• Pectin. This should be a safe low GI food, and perhaps beneficial to the gut flora?
• mushrooms - these are ok
  
• rice, rice cakes, rice pudding, rice sponge cake
  
• brown rice : dotyisle says he can tolerate this better than white rice
  
• psyllium husks
• short grain rice : ted reckons this is safer
• vegies: zuccini, yellow squash, red/green peppers
• Nuts and seeds : sesame, pine nuts, macadamia, walnuts..
  John apparently finds sunflower seeds to be ok ?
  Peanuts should not be safe but I would like to test them anyway.
  
• Onions: have reacted very badly in the past to onions but would like to retest anyway
  
• Dairy, Hard Cheeses, Kefir
  Butter and Cream should be tolerated much better, but I still need to test it myself.
  Test cottage cheese since it is on the list of safe foods but I doubt it is ok for those who react to dairy.
  
• Avocado
• Tapioca
• Yeast derived foods : many yeast derived foods seem to be a problem eg: Wine, Beer, Vinegar, Cheese, Vegemite.. except for mushrooms??
• Quinoa
• Legumes, Lentils, Beans.
  I would be very happy if I could tolerate these. Also experiment with different ways of preparing these.
  Aparrently Jan (twisks) eats lentils (without much issue?)
  
• Maltodextrin
  Pello reacted to Maltodextrin
• Try cooking starchy apples - eg: bakes, stewed, or fried in butter. Does the starch in this fruit convert to simple sugars under high heat? Is the starch more easily tolerated when cooked?. (ok, I have now tried it and I don't think it helps to cook them)
  
• Guar Gum
  

Just some css/javascript here for alternating the row colours of the table :-)