Can all starches cause problems, and how to gain weight?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I'm new to the group and have been having some significant successes

with NT eating, but I'm glad to find this group to get some

suggestions. I guess I'll start from the beginning and say my whole

story. Looking back, I realize that I started not feeling my best over

4 years ago when I was fifteen years old. Then, I started feeling more

fatigued, having tingling and burning feelings, and was unable to gain

anymore weight. However the symptoms came on so slowly, and would come

and go, that is was only an annoyance for several years and didn't

majorly affect my life.

That changes in the fall of 2004 when I started college. At home,

although the food I got was definately not NT and was mostly

vegetarian, which at the time I thought was good, we had relatively

little processed food. When I got to school and had cafeteria food, I

got much sicker over the course of the year and by the end of the year

was having trouble concentrating, frequent outbreaks of tingling,

bloating, fatigue, muscle weakness and soreness, and many other

symptoms. I realized about then that I was very sensitive to MSG,

found out about its hidden sources, and when I got back home I felt

somewhat better because that was eliminated. My doctor wasn't helpful,

I got the normal tests in early summer and nothing was unusual.

However, through the summer, I started getting diarrhea and other

symptoms got worse, especially the bloating.

I realized wheat exaserbated the problem and got tested for celiac

disease, but it was negative. However, during those tests there were a

few unusual results, but they never said any explanation. One was that

my stomach lining was irritated and the other was that I have a

defeciency of IgA antibodies, but they said nothing about what that

means. I went back to school in August of this year even though I

wsan't feeling good, I was in denial. I joined an eating coop so I

wouldn't be eating the cafeteria food, but although it was better than

the cafeteria because at least I (generally) didn't get the MSG and

other crazy additives, it was vegetarian and even mostly vegan, and I

quickly got sicker than ever before. I was tired, bloated, unable to

concentrate on anything, bad short term memory, and had those tingling

and burning sensations even worse. I often started talking and forgot

what I was going to say halfway through the sentence and couldn't

finish it. Finally, after six weeks, I dropped out on medical

withdrawal, even though I didn't (and still don't) have any actual

diagnosis. I then realized that I had lost ten pounds in those weeks,

and was 6 foot 4 and 140 pounds.

I did an elimination diet when I got back, but although I did find

(again) that wheat made it worse, and also found that salicylates are

somewhat of an issue, it was not a huge difference, so I realized that

specific intolerances were less of an issue than general diet. I then

started following NT principles (I'd heard of it before but mostly

forgotten about it until recently, when I took another look at the

book). It has helped tremendously, I feel much more with it mentally,

my dairrhea is mostly gone, however the single most important thing

was reading the webpage on b12 on the WAPF website. I started taking

b12 (in the form of methylcobalamin) 2 weeks ago, and the awful

tingling and burning feelings got 90% better in a few days, my sinus

headaches cleared up, and the muscle soreness and weakness has gotten

somewhat less. However, I still have the problems with bloating, and

haven't been able to gain any of the weight back, despite plenty of

butter, coconut oil, taking cod liver oil, lacto fermenting, etc.

I now think that starches may be a big part of the problem. I've known

since before I even hear of NT that sugar (even natural sweeteners

like maple syrup and rapadura) gave me a reaction, my saliva turns

sour within about fifteen minutes and I get realy tired, although

sweet fruit doesn't seem to make the same effect. Starches seem to

make a similar effect in larger quantities, but not as quick. Soaking

does make a difference, but the effect is still there. I now wonder if

taking out wheat was beneficial because it just meant I was eating

less starch, not because of the gluten. If anyone thinks that's a

possibility, or knows other ways of gaining weight and reducing

bloating and fatigue in my situation, I would love to hear. Or have I

just not been doing it for enough time amd will continue to improve

doing the same things.