Twins with HFI need updated food list.

[raggydoll]

I am new here. I would also like an updated food-list if it is possible.

[kim55]

Raggydoll, where do you live and what is your age? And do you have HFI or other another condition? How long have you had it? What advice, if any, have you been given by medical professionals? And what is your goal--dealing with your own HFI, dealing with someone else's, losing weight with HFI, etc??

These answers could all make a difference in any food list.

[raggydoll]

I just want a general and updated foodlist for adults with HFI, so I can discuss it with my dietician.

[Tammy]

Oh, how nice that would be. If only such a thing existed.

The one that is generally excepted by the Dr's is the one from the U. of Boston.
www.bu.edu/aldolase/HFI/treatment/Diets.html

[charlie]

Hi raggydoll, Kim55 asked a good question as ingredients vary where you are, and names of foods vary so it is important to get the right list. eg Smarties in the USA are Ok but lethal here in England as they are chocolate coated sweets. I can send you the British List we have if you PM me your email address. Otherwise as Tammy has posted use the Boston diet

[kim55]

Raggydoll, if you use the list #1 on the Boston site you still need to be careful and read ingredients. For example, it lists cabbage as OK and it is too sweet for me, except in the form of unsweetened sauerkraut. It says no bread but certain breads can be OK, especially the crusty French baguettes and Cuban breads. Be very careful with ready-to-eat cereals--a lot of them are not sugar-coated but they are very high in sugar. (I used to love Kix as a kid but it has gotten sweeter and sweeter to me.) I am also not sure what the list means by dietetic jello, etc.--artificial sweeteners? I can't stand the taste of any artificial sweeteners and many supposed "sugar-free" foods may contain sorbitol. Everyone here seems to say that maltitol, another sugar alcohol, is safe but it gives me bad GI symptoms.

In the US, be careful of all breads and of any soups that you have not made yourself, from scratch. Also watch out for the increased number of meats that are sold in some sort of marinade, since it usually contains some sugar. Do not eat fake crabmeat. I have also had occasions when something appeared to be safe because the only sugar it listed was dextrose, but it made me sick so I suspect the dextrose was not pure. You may want to try keeping a food diary, so if you find yourself suddenly feeling weak or nauseous you can look back at what you have eaten recently and identify anything new or suspect. If I accidently eat fructose, it usually hits me about 30-45 minutes later. Depending on what else I eat, the weakness usually gets better after about 30 minutes, but as you've seen here, people's reactions are very different. Good luck!

[kim55]

Oh, and I forgot to add, avoid all alcoholic drinks and soft drinks. I don't know if every liquor contains sugar, but many of them do, and everything that people mix them with is sweet. (Caveat: I have tried plain scotch and water, but I didn't like the taste, and I have never tried vodka.) Wine and beer also contain high amounts of sugar. Last year I discovered wheat beer, which is less sweet, and I actually drank an entire beer for the first time in my life (over a 4-hour period), but I suspect I should count that as a "cheat."

Safe drinks include teas, herbal teas, coffee without sugar, milk, and water.

[ukbill]

Kim55 4 hours for a wheat beer?

Beers brewed to the German Purity standards are safe..

They contain Barley, Yeast and Water nothing else! Barley produces Maltose which is safe being 2xGlucose molecules (unlike Sucrose which is 1 x Glucose and 1 X Fructose molecules linked together.)

I have drunk many crates of German beer and have also discovered another good fact about the stuff.. Never had a hangover from German Beer! and believe me I should have had a king sized hangover a few times!

Wine I cannot touch even the most dry red which has the mouth feel of raw vinegar gives be a hell of a kicking even after only drinking a tiny amount.

A great many whiskey's are adulterated with sugar as are brandy, gin, vodka (except home brewed Vodka that is quite safe )

I find Pure Malt Scotch whisky is OK usually the alcohol gets me before the sugar

A lot of Small breweries in the UK "Micro Breweries" make beer out of Glucose or Maltose so their beer is usually safe'ish again the stuff is usually far stronger than the label states so the alcohol gets me before anything else..

I have to admit to being a light weight when it comes to drinking beer anything more than 4 or 5 pints and I've had enough.. unless its German stuff.. then you had better have room for a couple of crates in the fridge

Warning .. alcohol depresses the blood sugar level (in "normals" as well as HFI) so its always best to eat with the beer.. just to keep the blood sugar level in balance.. even if the alcohol has destroyed your normal sense of balance for the time being

As a home remedy when I get a sore throat I gargle with neat malt scotch whisky.. It burns like the proverbial but next day .. no sore throat! Works ever time. I would not recommend this unless you are used to the heat of neat malt whisky.. otherwise you could gag on it and that would not be good..

Unlike normal throat gargle treatments there is no need to spit the whisky out! In deed it would be sacrilege to do so!.. The fumes from the whisky also are very good at clearing the nose and associated pipes.

Enjoy..

[raggydoll]

How about fructans in grains and such? Is it individual? I cannot tolerate wheat or rye.

[charlie]

The fructans are more a problem if you have fructose malabsorbtion which is a large colon problem with fructose as opposed to a liver problem. But check your grain problem isn't what else you have with it ie fructose isn't slipping through

[kim55]

Whole wheat tends to taste sour, so commercial whole wheat and rye breads in the US always have added sweeteners.

If you know it is the wheat grain itself that makes you sick, have you been tested for celiac disease? I don't know a lot about it, but I did some reading because my daughter is mildly allergic to wheat, so for a while we were buying a lot of the gluten-free foods made for people with celiac. I believe some people with celiac disease also react to rye.

Also, have you ruled out food allergies? The food allergy tests are often not very accurate, and of course they don't test for everything. I think my daughter's ongoing stomach problems are due to food allergies, but we have not been able to identify all of them.

Once again, good luck!