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Hi everyone. Any idea if 'Ensure' is ok to use? I feel like I can't eat anything right now except maybe plain white rice (I read basmati is more easily digested than regular). I leave tomorrow morning on our trip and thought maybe I'd pack some Ensure.( It says it's lactose and dairy free.) I'm right now worried about getting enough nutrition as I've not been eating much at all for the past 3 days. If I was going to be home, I'd start making chicken broth etc. but that'll have to wait, and I need to cope with a trip without dying of hunger or the big D. So what is your experience with Ensure?
My left side pain has been 'moving around'- I'm starting to think it's my colon after all (maybe).
So many of you mention soy as a culprit. Is that a commonly known irritant or something?
Thankyou all. I'll check back here before leaving in the morning. Mia
Ensure?
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Mia,
When I first started the diet, I thought that I was only gluten intolerant, so I drank a lot of Ensure, because I needed something to keep my energy level up, while doing a lot of physical labor, at work. It finally dawned on me, though, that I was also sensitive to dairy products, so I had to stop using Ensure. It contains calcium caseinate, and whey protein concentrate, both of which come from milk.
As Joan mentioned, about half of us with MC seem to be intolerant of soy, and it's derivatives. A lot of foods contain soy lecithin, including Ensure. Ensure is indeed lactose free, but it's not dairy free, unfortunately.
I wish I knew of something safe and nourishing, that's easy to take with you, but to the best of my knowledge, all of the products in that category, (Ensure, Encore, Boost, etc.), contain dairy products and soy. Can you eat eggs? Hard-boiled eggs are fairly easy to take along on a trip, peeled, and in zip-loc bags, and they're a good source of protein. Maybe someone else will have some good ideas.
Tex
When I first started the diet, I thought that I was only gluten intolerant, so I drank a lot of Ensure, because I needed something to keep my energy level up, while doing a lot of physical labor, at work. It finally dawned on me, though, that I was also sensitive to dairy products, so I had to stop using Ensure. It contains calcium caseinate, and whey protein concentrate, both of which come from milk.
As Joan mentioned, about half of us with MC seem to be intolerant of soy, and it's derivatives. A lot of foods contain soy lecithin, including Ensure. Ensure is indeed lactose free, but it's not dairy free, unfortunately.
I wish I knew of something safe and nourishing, that's easy to take with you, but to the best of my knowledge, all of the products in that category, (Ensure, Encore, Boost, etc.), contain dairy products and soy. Can you eat eggs? Hard-boiled eggs are fairly easy to take along on a trip, peeled, and in zip-loc bags, and they're a good source of protein. Maybe someone else will have some good ideas.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Hi Mia,
I've been racking my brain, trying to think of what you can eat on vacation. I always pack a "food suitcase" when I travel. I include my own cereal (Rice Chex and Arrowhead Buckwheat) and dairy-free milk. If I need to eat at the airport, I pour some milk in 3 oz. containers and bring along a banana. If you can cook where you're vacationing, Cream of Rice is good.
For lunch, I pack my own rice bread, homemade mayonnaise, and soy-free tuna. I also bring rice cakes, sunflower spread and jelly. When I arrive at my destination, I buy Boar's Head turkey lunch meat, if it's available. I'll also buy canned fruits at the store and potato chips.
If I have to eat out, I'll order a hamburger with a baked potato. I put my mayonnaise on it, or olive oil, if I've forgotten the mayo. I bring along homemade buns - I know it's too late for you to do that, but they do sell GF hamburger buns in stores. I can tolerate Arby's roast beef on my own bun, but not their sauces. I use catsup. I also can tolerate their potato cakes. I think they deep fry them separately. Both P.F. Changs and Outback Steakhouse have GF menus. Plain fish or steak are your safest bets in a restaurant. So are baked potatoes. Rice might have butter or other seasonings added. If you can tolerate corn, Mexican restaurants will usually cook with corn oil and you can order corn tacos or flautas. I haven't had any problems after eating at a local Mexican restaurant.
You didn't say how you were travelling. If you're flying, be aware that your liquids must be in 3 oz. containers. I pack my mayonnaise, milk and any other liquids in my checked bag. I'll be packing 8 oz. containers of soup broth (Kitchen Basics) when I travel next week to my daughter's house.
I hope I'm not too late with my suggestions and that you find some of them helpful. I also hope you can enjoy yourself. Immodium was my salvation when I took a road trip a couple of years ago.
Gloria
I've been racking my brain, trying to think of what you can eat on vacation. I always pack a "food suitcase" when I travel. I include my own cereal (Rice Chex and Arrowhead Buckwheat) and dairy-free milk. If I need to eat at the airport, I pour some milk in 3 oz. containers and bring along a banana. If you can cook where you're vacationing, Cream of Rice is good.
For lunch, I pack my own rice bread, homemade mayonnaise, and soy-free tuna. I also bring rice cakes, sunflower spread and jelly. When I arrive at my destination, I buy Boar's Head turkey lunch meat, if it's available. I'll also buy canned fruits at the store and potato chips.
If I have to eat out, I'll order a hamburger with a baked potato. I put my mayonnaise on it, or olive oil, if I've forgotten the mayo. I bring along homemade buns - I know it's too late for you to do that, but they do sell GF hamburger buns in stores. I can tolerate Arby's roast beef on my own bun, but not their sauces. I use catsup. I also can tolerate their potato cakes. I think they deep fry them separately. Both P.F. Changs and Outback Steakhouse have GF menus. Plain fish or steak are your safest bets in a restaurant. So are baked potatoes. Rice might have butter or other seasonings added. If you can tolerate corn, Mexican restaurants will usually cook with corn oil and you can order corn tacos or flautas. I haven't had any problems after eating at a local Mexican restaurant.
You didn't say how you were travelling. If you're flying, be aware that your liquids must be in 3 oz. containers. I pack my mayonnaise, milk and any other liquids in my checked bag. I'll be packing 8 oz. containers of soup broth (Kitchen Basics) when I travel next week to my daughter's house.
I hope I'm not too late with my suggestions and that you find some of them helpful. I also hope you can enjoy yourself. Immodium was my salvation when I took a road trip a couple of years ago.
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.