Phase 1: ambiguous foods stage 1

  • posted by Sarah Lang
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    Hi I’ve done my week’s food diary and am now on Day 2 of the Removal and Repair stage (aka Phase 1). There are a few foods that I’m not sure whether I can have or not in Phase 1, as the book says to avoid them, but they’re in recipes as “suitable for stage 1”. I suspect they might be foods you can have occasionally? These are fermented soy products like tofu and tempeh, rolled oats (given they contain gluten), and cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower, and non-dairy yogurts (e.g. coconut yoghurt). Also I can’t see anywhere whether I can have black tea? (though it wouldn’t be the same without milk). Also can you please recommend some non-dairy cheeses suitable for Stage 1? Plus are you limiting fruit at all?
    Thanks!
    Sarah

  • posted by Firefox7275
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    Which food types or food groups you avoid or limit in phase one depends, in part, on the analysis of your detailed food and symptom diary (maintained for *at least* a week, some of us need longer). Note that Dr Mosley and co. “don’t recommend removing too many foods at one time, so it might be helpful to do R&R in several stages.” (p.190)

    Fruit: avoid sugary varieties (tropical), include low sugar varieties (berry mixes), limit prebiotic rich, moderate sugar varieties (apples/ pears with skin).

    Oats do not contain gluten, but rather a structurally similar protein. Many with coeliac disease (true allergy to gluten) tolerate oats well. Whether you include oats depends on your food diary.

    Fermented soya products: whether you include these depends on your food diary. If you have been overemphasising soya products, or suspect they cause gut problems for you, remove and reintroduce them.

    Fibrous/ cruciferous vegetables: how they are cooked, how thoroughly they are chewed and serving size can all affect how well they are tolerated.

    Here in the UK the recommended serving size for fresh fruit and vegetables – inc. beans and lentils – is 80g. This is a HUGE pile of salad leaves, half an apple or banana, a few florets of cauli or broccoli. When reintroducing suspect foods do start with a quarter or half serving and work up slowly.

    Non dairy yoghurt abd cheeses: these tend to be highly processed and/ or contain sugar or sweeteners so limit these. If your food diary suggests you have no issue with probiotic rich dairy products (live yoghurt/ kefir/ traditional cheeses) you may decide to keep them
    in, or switch from cows milk cheeses to sheep and goats milk cheeses.

    HTH.

  • posted by Sarah Lang
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    Thanks a lot. In the Repair stage, can I have coconut and dark chocolate and if so how much? (I’m in the normal weight range but would like to lose a few kilos.) Also is black tea allowed (with, say, almond milk) or am I best to stick to herbal? And is an apple or pear a day ok or is, say, half of one the limit? And how much hummus is allowed? I don’t think porridge causes me gut problems so I’m having that for most breakfasts as I’m not that partial to egg/fish first thing. Is it normal when you’re used to snacking to be extremely hungry between stage 1 meals?
    Thanks
    Sarah

  • posted by Firefox7275
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    I think you may be overly focussed on individual foodstuffs and not ‘seeing the bigger picture’. Clever Guts is a nutrient dense, *very varied*, balanced *wholefood* diet. Alongside these core principles the analysis of your unique detailed food and symptom diary should guide your unique journey to healthier, happier guts.

    Clever Guts is not prescriptive/ one-size-fits-all/ restrictive/ very rigid like many short term ‘detox’ or weight loss diets. Done right CG should fit, broadly, with the healthy eating and healthy lifestyle guidelines of your country. These cover serving sizes and frequency, maximums and minimums, encourage *balance and variety* with and between food groups and food types.

    It is great you are not slavishly following the example meal planners. But do take from them the huge variety of individual food items and of food combinations (=meals). Also that the reduction in starchy carbohydrates is balanced by an increase in healthy fats and complete proteins and prebiotic fibres. This maintains energy (=calories}, helps us stay fuller for longer and helps keep us regular (supports gut microbiome).

    *to be continued, my smartphone hates long posts!*

  • posted by Firefox7275
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    Getting down to the specifics of your questions …

    Being hungry may suggest your current eating plan is not properly balanced and very varied. Ideally have a different breakfast, lunchtime and evening meal each day. If you have whole oats (steel cut or jumbo not processed ‘porridge’) have some raw soaked and some slow cooked. Have other breakfasts based upon seeds and nuts, or on other gluten-free grains and beans/ lentils, or experiment more with eggs, oily fish, other seafood, fermented goats or sheeps dairy products. These all supply protein plus fats and/ or fibres all of which slow digestion and keep us fuller for longer.

    Coconut: some forms are sweetened or refined, others whole so count towards your daily/ weekly (20-30 varieties p.191) intake of vegetables and fruits. In the UK dessicated, block creamed or toasted chips are usually whole, unsweetened coconut.

    Dark chocolate: in the UK this covers everything from 50-100% cocoa and 0-40% sugar or equivalent sweetener. Cocoa powder is loaded with minerals (esp. magnesium), fibre, antioxidants (make it bitter) and healthy fats. But added sugar and sweeteners should be minimised (p.188). So how much dark chocolate you have depends on the product.

    Apples and pears with skin: have a wide variety of produce, mainly vegetables (p.191) and the full rainbow (p.119-122). So ideally have low sugar fruits (berry mixes) limiting tree and tropical fruits. Half an apple or pear coated in lemon juice should not brown in the refrigerator.

    *to be continued, my smartphone hates long posts!*

  • posted by Firefox7275
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    Clever Guts and other balanced wholefood diets suggest that many Westerners need to substantially increase the variety of individual foods and food combinations (=meals). Breakfast especially: most of us eat wheat and/ or cows dairy and/ or refined sugar *every morning*. The more frequently we eat one food item the less frequently we eat the numerous alternatives.

    Yet some nationalities have spicy rice and/ or insects and/ or seafood and/ or vegetables. Savoury not sweet!

    It may take time to acclimatise to a truly varied diet, but we have the *rest of our lives* to work on being healthier. My sibling and I were raised on homegrown/ homecooked food but somehow left home skinny and picky! I was forced into lifestyle change by health problems, my sibling by their longed-for and long-awaited first child.

    Just keep experimenting, keep an open mind, keep working towards a nutrient dense, very varied, balanced wholefood diet. Keep on keeping on.

    HTH!

  • posted by Sarah Lang
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    Hi, I hear what you’re saying re the big picture,. After I’ve done the Stage One R&R, then the re-introductions, I plan to eat a more varied wholefoods diet. (I’ve interviewed Michael Mosley for a story on the science, and will be interviewing him next month re my experiences on this Clever Guts diet.) But I feel like I need to really get my head round what I can and can’t have while doing the Stage One ‘R&R’. I can’t slavishly follow the Meal Plans as I’m vegetarian (I have been managing to eat salmon, though), and I don’t always have time to cook a separate meal (my husband and son aren’t keen on my recipes) so often make something from the allowed ingredients. Also the Clever Guts recipe book has some ambiguities. For the stage one R&R, can you please clarify whether I can have black tea (or black tea with almond milk)? If I tolerate soy milk, is coffee allowed? Also in your post you say I can have beans/ lentils, but the recipe book says to exclude these during Stage One. The Stage One recipe for “Poor Man’s anchovies” (roasted potatoes) makes me think perhaps I can have some hot chips (fries)? Also, if you “slip up” during R&R by eating foods not allowed during this stage, do you need to start from scratch?
    Thanks,
    Sarah

  • posted by Sarah Lang
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    Also, during stage 1, can I have Frooze Balls occasionally? Made from dates, raisins, nuts, seeds, carob powder, coconut.

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