Ask Dr. Taz MD: April 1st, 2014

Dear Dr. Taz,
I have been sick quite a bit and doctors keep saying that I don’t have any illness other than gastritis, osteoarthritis and I am prediabetic. I was by mistake taken off gluten, dairy, corn, seafood, nuts, eggs. Then they diagnosed me withsome disease only to come back and say “oh, you don’t have that.” Thank God I did not take the medication they prescribed. While I got off all the above items, I felt great, no aches and pains, no stomach problems and even less allergies. But I am starving!! I do not have the knowledge of what to eat and how to put food together to get all the nutrients I need on a daily basis. Can you help me? I have asked my doctors, but i guess they don’t know either. Thank you so much for any help.

Answer: 
Many foods can trigger inflammation by altering gut function. This is why coming off gluten, dairy, corn, etc often help patients feel better. Often, when too many foods are problematic, the problem is more digestive, rather than food based. Make sure you are also working on good gut function, including probiotics, fermented foods, and amino acids to build gut lining, like glutamine. If you have too many food intolerances, it may also be a good idea to meet with a nutritionist to help plan meals with sufficient calories.