foods and endo

[ponyos]

I keep seeing advice to limit eating refined carbohydrates if you have endo. I can do this for almost everything and even be gluten free but I’m autistic and my comfort food is plain white rice. I’m feeling really upset because it’s one of my main safe foods and I don’t want to cut it out of my diet. I’m finding all the advice round foods so overwhelming as I already have food selectivity and a really low appetite. Does anyone have any advice on the importance of cutting out rice. Ps. I know I could have brown rice but it takes longer to cook and it’s not the same

[16yearsofpainsofar]

I honestly don't think diet matters except I avoid fizzy drinks. I have coeliac disease so I avoid gluten anyway. I still have severe pain and heavy blood loss. Rice is gluten free so don't cut that out of your diet.

[Sunset-lady]

Do you notice any adverse side effects immediately or day after your rice? If not, then you should just continue it. Being stressed about it will cause more issues than the rice. I felt this way about cream in my coffee - i couldn't imagine not having it. I gave it up for a month and tried other things and I was able to wean myself off it eventually. Be kind to yourself. We have enough to deal with without denying ourselves things that comfort us x

[GraceFace]

I’ve never found that rice make any difference to my Endo. I was told to avoid soya though x

[BloomingMarvellous]

I have a lot experience with nutrition so here's the low down. I hope this will help you feel more at ease and totally understand the issues with food and autism can be a complex field.

First and foremost you being able to eat as widely as is feasible across a broad nutritional selection as possible is ideal. It's for the most part what we are missing in our diet, than what we leave aside that is at issue.

Next . Take care of you and if taking care of you includes white rice well, no sweat. (If it were not an issue I would always champion whole grains as a point of what you can get from the food but that's by the by in this discussion ). You can minimise some of the issues around refined starch very easily . The primary issue with refined starches is the speed at which they raise the blood sugars and then drop them again which is a far quicker cycle than whole grains. Quick cycling is something we need to avoid if we can. The yo-yoing of blood sugars increases inflammation across the body aggravating problems like Endo, autoimmune disorders and diabetes etc which we don't want. We are aiming for a steadier blood sugar to lessen the flares. With refined or starchy veg this can be improved by cooking and then quickly cooling and chilling ( overnight if you like) pastas, rice and potatoes in the fridge to give you resistant starch which is absorbed more slowly. This results in less of a blood sugar spike . Always ensure they are heated thoroughly but it will mean you can enjoy your white rice with less concern. ☺️

Add back . Removing the husk from rice means you remove the source of Vit B's out of your diet which are crucial for your well being. If you are struggling to achieve a well rounded diet a complete Vit B supplement- liquid ones are easier to take and often I found autists do better when they are methylated versions such as Viridian do. Miso, marmite etc can be helpful here.

On your better stretches when the diet issue is less in over facing you might want to try doing a 2/3rd white rice to 1/3 brown or even less of that ratio to see if that works. They are different cook times so cook separately and try just a small portion. (Again however do the fridge hack )You may find that works for you and you may find over time your taste buds adjust - or not!

Do what's best for you and small steps at a time not all at once because that can be too stressful for anyone.

I really like this well researched book Heal Endo by Katie Edmonds which really covers the nutrition side and there's a companion book where she does recipes that you might find helpful.

[Sunset-lady in reply to BloomingMarvellous]

Love this advice x

[Lucie44 in reply to BloomingMarvellous]

Great advice and kind of you to share.

[Lucie44 in reply to BloomingMarvellous]

Could you try cutting down on your rice intake if you do a food diary and find it is a trigger for Endo flares? Maybe a cauliflower rice instead. Or half cauliflower half white rice xx