A little Wisdom

There are many opinions by those of the medical community when it comes diet and Gastroparesis. Most bases their opinion of what we should be able to eat, and what we shouldn't based on assumption. Not having experienced the reality of having Gastroparesis, their assumption is faulty to say the least. Same can be said for those medical researchers that are connected to the Crohn's Foundation. Their common concept a person with Crohn's disease can eat anything that they want, unless they are lactose intolerant. On the other hand, having both Crohn's disease and Gastroparesis, understanding what I can eat and what I can't is essential to my physical and emotional well being.

How often should I be eating?
Although, the medical profession believes that eating 6 small meals a day is essential for a those with Gastroparesis, for eating small meals are easier to digest than a large meal. What most fail to realize is, or tell you is that at least half of your daily meals should be either soft or in liquid form.
It is vital , whither you have diabetes or not , that you never skip a meal. Your energy level and nutritional needs are not meet, if you skip a meal. If you are like me, you want to skip eating when you are experiencing nausea. But if you do, you will eventually begin to feel the consequence . The symptoms of skipping a meal are: chronic fatigue, burning cramps in your stomach, and if you go to long with out eating, the symptoms of hyperglycemia . You can develop hyperglycemia , whether you are diabetic or not.

How do I know what I should or shouldn't eat?
Although the medical profession says I should have a problem with milk products, I find drinking milk very soothing to my stomach. On the other hand, products that are filled with preservatives and dyes, can tare up my stomach something awful . I found that out on my own, not through medical advice. In fact, if my stomach doesn't like something , I can spend up to 12 hours suffering from server stomach cramps, as my body trying to get rid of it. As a result, I now eat things as natural as they can come. I don't have the wealth to order my food organic, so I read labels, and buy frozen and fresh products as much as possible.
The truth about what we should eat and what we shouldn't may very according to the severity of the Gastroparesis, and the unique complication that will very from person to person. Example, I not only have to deal with the reality of having Gastroparesis, but I also have Crohn’s disease. While I don’t have diabetic, and other person with Gastroparesis may be diabetic. While I have a problem with food sensitivity , some one else with a similar condition may not. As a result, each of us most learn what we can eat comfortable and what we can't.

Can you afford to eat things that have no nutritional value?

On a personal note, I came to realize that because my stomach is so slow to digest foods , that I can't afford to eat any things that has no nutritional value. In other words, cakes, cookies, ice cream, heavy sugared desserts, that have little or none nutritional value waste what little energy my stomach has. So do food items that are slow to digest even for a person with a normal operating digestive track.
The first item I had to remove from my diet was Beef!. Beef is one of the hardest meat to digest for human. It can take up to five days for beef to go through the intestinal system, and that is the time period for a person that had a digestive track that operates effectively. For a person with Crohn's disease, or Gastroparesis, let just say that the meat will rot in your stomach before it will digest.
When my stomach finally had enough of trying to deal with beef, it reacted in a violent way. Stomach cramps, vomiting, and eventually diarrhea. Needless to say, I took my stomach warning seriously. I have not eaten beef in 15 years. The truth of the matter was, I stopped eating beef 10 years before I was finally diagnosed with Gastroparesos. Needless to say, I don't wait for a doctor to tell me what I can or can't eat, before I made any decision one what my stomach could handle and what it couldn't.

What are a list of food that are hard to digest?
Meat
Meat items that are heavy with fat can be difficult to digest, therefore, keep your meat item simple , lean , and as naturally processed as possible . In other words, stay way from mixed lunch meats, hot dogs, sausage, or breaded meats like fish stick or chicken nuggets. Such items are filled with fat and preservatives, they also lack the pure nutritional value of naturally cut meals.
Keep in mind that the daily protein needs are around 60 grams for a women, 100 for a man. In order to meet those daily need, there are other sources of proteins Available besides meat. Eggs , peanut butter, unprocessed cheese are just a couple. I use a simple protein in a shake mix, made from easy digestible whey. I also use Kellogg's special K2O ( protein water mix). Protein is essential when it comes to balancing blood sugar. Drinking a liquid protein through out the day, helps my energy levels while balancing my blood sugar.

Fiber
Fiber is necessary in order keep Bezoars from becoming a serious problem. But when you have Gastroparesis , you most keep your fiber intake to a minimum or face diarrhea. If you chose to get your daily fiber from your breads ( some people do) white bread is a bad choose. For one thing it is heavy in sugar , it can also can ball up in your stomach and cause you to develop Bezoars. Use breads that are filled with pure fiber, a seven grain bread that has a limited amounts of sugar, and filled with extra vitamins and minerals. But limit the amount of bread you eat each day to one helping.
Cereal is a good source as long as you watch your sugar. Personally, I use Kellogg's All Bran, Fiber Drink mix, you simply mix it with water. It not only gentle to the stomach , but is also a protien drink as well

Fats
While we have all heard doctors discuss good and bad cholesterol . Most of us if we are over 40 years of age, have been lectured on the importance of lowering our cholesterol levels. Many of us have take the issue so seriously, that we have removed so many oils and fats in our diet, that we are beginning to squeak, and creak, as our bone grind on one another another.
Oils and fats are necessary for good health, strong bones and a healthy joints. So is our BRAIN! Since out the human brains is made up of mostly cholesterol. Depriving our brain of the cholesterol it needs to stay health, our mind will begin to feel the consequence. The truth is there are good fats and bad fats, and the wrong cholesterol can lead to heart disease. But removing all fats from our daily dietary requirements and we will pay the consequences for our choose.
While heavy fats, especially those found in meat products are hard to digest, your body still requires some fat in order to insure proper health. We take our daily does of essential oil, either by pill (Vitamins E, Fish oil) or use them as a part of our daily meal preparation. We can even rub essential oils on our skin, and gain more than soft skin as the oils are absorbed into our blood stream.

Vegetables
Eating Vegetables are essential for daily nutritional needs. The problem is that vegetables like broccoli, celery, are filled with a hard stem that are difficult to digest. Most people tend to like their veggies such as broccoli on snappy side, more raw then well done. On the other hand a person with GPA can’t digest raw very well. So if you eat veggies, make sure they are well done. Or you can eat then in other forms, like creamed or juiced. Onions and garlic also can be a problem, but they have nutritional and seasonal properties that are needed. Eating them raw, in a potato salad may taste great, but they don't taste the same coming back up. Especially when you have a problem with gas, a common complication associated with GPA. Cooking them and blending them is easier in the digestion, but using powered forms are better, even if you lose some nutritional value in the process, at least what you eat won't be boring.
Tomatoes and potato in themselves are easy to digest, but their peels are not, therefore , take a few minutes and remove the peels. Or in the case of a bake potato, don't eat the peel. FYI- Apples should also be peeled before eating, for the same reason.


Keeping gas to in check
Between the fermentation of food that has not digest, and sugar that feed over grow of yeast in the stomach, excess gas can be a painful problem, as well as a nuisances. Formation of intestinal gas is closely related with the diet (foods and fluids) we consume on a regular bases. The intensity of effects experienced by each individual may defer. However, the foods which are hard to digest are the main culprit responsible for occurrence of intestinal gas. Food rich in sugar and certain fibrous food can cause you to have a problem with gas Whole grains, beans, grapes, peas, onions, raisins, corn, plums, red wine, beer and soft drinks are the examples of foods which can lead to occurrence of intestinal gas. If you are intolerant to milk foods or wheat, this could cause discomfort for you. To avoid this condition you must pay proper attention to your diet.

Keeping the intestinal track moving
Intake of plenty of fluids helps ensures proper digestion, by helping to keep the digested food moving out of the stomach. However, you must be cautious about the fluids. You can take plenty of water, fruit juices, clear soup and non-carbonated fluids. But you must avoid consumption of beer, red wine and soda. If you can not avoid the beverages (beer, soft drink etc) let the beverages fizz out and then take.