To piggy-back off of last week's newsletter a lot of patients have been asking me in Lafayette LA

Q: In order to eliminate the Ferocious Five ingredients you mentioned last week, I think it'll be easy to avoid the obvious food choices that contain gluten, dairy, sugar, corn & eggs - but what are some of the "not-so-obvious" food choices where these ingredients may be hiding?

A: This is such a great question, because if you, like me, are eliminating the Ferocious Five you are probably stressed out about meeting friends for lunch or dinner for fear of being "that person" who interrogates the wait staff about whether or not this dish or that dish contain this ingredient or that ingredient!

First let's re-cap why eliminating The Ferocious Five: gluten, dairy, sugar, corn & eggs, is a good idea for two weeks. In a word: INFLAMMATION. Whether we have chronic neck pain, back pain or joint pain, peripheral neuropathy, allergies, asthma, ear infections, diverticulitis, fibromyalgia, arthritis, headaches or migraines, anxiety, depression, constipation, polymyalgia rheumatic, diarrhea, chronic sinus infections, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, painful female cycles, restlessness/inability to sleep, frozen shoulder, tendonitis, chronic muscle aches, fatigue… taking full and total control of the foods you eat for two weeks enables your liver to completely regenerate, thereby creating "a clean slate." Now, that's not to say that an elimination diet such as this will SOLVE the world's (and your) problems. That's NOT the goal. Our goal is to reduce that nasty little side effect called: INFLAMMATION in Lafayette LA, which is produced when we consume a diet which includes the Ferocious Five. One of my favorite authors, JJ Virgin compiled a list of where these ingredients hide so let's dive in…

1. Let's begin with GLUTEN.

White breads and pastas break down quickly into gluten and in turn lead to inflammation. In a 2010 study, researchers found that a diet high in refined/processed grains led to a greater concentration of a certain inflammation marker in the blood. White breads have been refined in a way that goes against nature, going against what the body needs. The processing of wheat eliminates all nutritional properties leaving you with a stomach full of "fast-digesting carbohydrates beyond empty calories which irritate the body.

WHERE GLUTEN HIDES:

• Bread and bread rolls • Rye bread • Pumpernickel • Yorkshire pudding • Pretzels • Cakes
• Stuffing • Muffins • Pastry or pie crust • Pancakes • Waffles • Biscuits or cookies • Crisp bread • Bulgar wheat
• Pasta - macaroni, spaghetti • Durham • Crumble toppings • Couscous • Pizza • Semolina • Scones
• Some breakfast cereals • All Bran • Anything in breadcrumbs • Malted drinks • Muesli • Matzo flour/meal
• Sausages - often contain rusk (and the machines used to make them are often cleaned out with bread)
• Luncheon meat - may contain fillers • Malt vinegar • Blue cheeses (may be made with bread) • Meat and fish pastes
• Gravy powders and stock cubes such as OXO cubes • Shredded suet in packs (flour is used to keep the strands separate)
• Seitan (doesn't contain gluten, it IS gluten!) • Farina • Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP) • Pates
• Baked beans (there may be gluten in the tomato sauce) • Imitation crab meat • Self-basting turkeys • Brown rice syrup
• Sauces - often thickened with flour • Cheap brands of chocolate
• Alcoholic drinks - such as beer, ale, lager • Soy sauce - only Tamari is OK
• Soups - may be roux based (made with flour) • Licorice
• Mustard - dry mustard powder contains gluten • Chutneys and pickles
• Instant coffee - may be bulked out with flour • Salad dressings
• Curry powder and other spices (can be bulked out with flour) • White pepper

2. DAIRY

Whole milk or even two-percent is high in saturated fat and saturated fats increase LDLs (bad cholesterol) thereby casing inflammation. The other issues with dairy are processed foods which contain the milk protein, "casein" and the milk sugar, "lactose." These bi-products of dairy are recognized as foreign invaders in your body, so your body creates an "auto-immune response" also known as an INFLAMMATORY response to stop those invaders dead in their tracks. (Who knew you had your own personal army working for you? The human body is pretty amazing, no?)

WHERE DAIRY HIDES:

• Cow, goat and sheep milk yogurts and cheeses • Cottage cheese,
• Desserts • Ice cream • Creamy soups and sauces
• Whey protein powder • Chocolate (except some dark chocolate products)
• Anything that says milk proteins, solids, casein, or whey in it
• Butter and many margarines • Macaroni and cheese
• Shakes and hot chocolate mixes and drinks • Many baking mixes (pancake mix)
• Many baked goods (bread, crackers, desserts) • Cream soups and chowders
• Many "non-dairy" products (coffee creamer, whipped topping)
• Canned foods (soups, spaghetti, ravioli) • Mashed potatoes (often prepared with butter and/or milk)
• Many salad dressings (ranch, blue cheese, creamy, Caesar) • Creamy, cheese, or butter sauces (often on vegetables or meats)
• Milk, milk solids, non-fat milk solids • Yogurt, kefir
• Whey • Cream, sour cream, half & half, whipped cream
• Lactose, lactalbumin • Cheese, cream cheese, cottage cheese
• Butter or artificial butter flavor • Buttermilk or buttermilk solids
• Casein, caseinate, sodium caseinate (check lab results for + casein)

3. SUGAR

Every time you eat refined carbohydrates (any type of sugar including high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, lactose, as refined white foods such as white bread, pasta etc.), it results in a rapid rise in blood sugar. This, in turn, causes insulin levels to rise, triggering an immune response. When blood sugar levels and/or insulin levels are high, the result is a pro-inflammatory response. This occurs every time you eat foods containing refined sugars and starches, which can lead to chronic inflammation.

WHERE SUGAR HIDES:

• Barley Malt Beet sugar Blackstrap molasses Brown sugar Cane sugar
• Cane juice crystals Caramel Carob syrup Castor sugar
• Corn sweeteners Corn Syrup Confectioner's sugar Date sugar
• Demerara sugar Dextrin Dextrose Diastatic malt Diatase
• D-mannose Evaporated cane juice Fructose Fruit juice concentrate
• Galactose Glucose High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) Honey
• Invert sugar Lactose Malt syrup Maltodextrin Maltose
• Maple syrup Molasses Raw sugar Rice syrup
• Sucrose Syrup Table sugar Treacle Turbinado sugar

4. CORN

Jimmy crack corn and I don't care? Maybe back then, but today you need to be aware of just how much corn there is in processed foods. The food processing industry uses a number of corn derivatives such as high-fructose corn syrup, corn starch, corn oil because it is cheap and plentiful. In its refined form, corn spikes blood sugar, leading to an increased insulin and inflammatory response (just as in sugar). Because manufacturing companies sneak corn into just about EVERYTHING, with any grocery store purchase - flip the product over and read the label's ingredients. Corn will not only be listed as the obvious high fructose corn syrup, but also as starch: cereal starch, edible starch & modified starch.

5. EGGS

Purchasing store bought eggs is something you need to start thinking about and after reading this you are also going to find it to be EXPENSIVE. The truth is, when we eat store bought, generic eggs (from Wal-Mart, Winn Dixie, Piggly Wiggly, Albertsons, etc.) we are consuming eggs which have come from a factory farm. Factory farmed eggs are produced by chickens which are forced to live under inhumane conditions where they never see daylight, are fed refined corn (and we now know how harmful refined corn is) as their primary diet as well as other chickens who have died in their stall. These chickens are doped up with all kinds of hormones and anti-biotics (because most of them are awfully ill) and the eggs they produce wind up in your omelet. NOW, the solution is to purchase eggs that are ORGANIC (meaning they do not come from a factory farm), Free-Range/Cage FREE (meaning, they roam around a farm freely), Grass-fed/Grain-free (meaning they do not eat refined corn) & Hormone/Anti-biotic FREE (meaning they are not injected with anything). You will probably spend anywhere from $3-$5/dozen depending upon where you shop. Don't get upset. You have two weeks on this elimination diet to get your hands on anything and everything about factory farming so when you re-introduce eggs at the end of the 2 weeks, you make an informed, educated decision - about what kinds of eggs you want to put in your body.

WHERE EGGS HIDE:

The obvious answer is in omelets, and quiches, and other breakfast dishes; but remember that eggs are ubiquitous in baked goods, pancakes, breads, and salads (like tuna and potato). They are often hidden in meatloaves, crab cakes, soups (think egg drop and matzo ball), crepes, zucchini fritters, stuffing, noodles, and meatballs. Always read ingredient lists on food labels. You'd be surprised how many foods contain eggs. Be aware that most egg replacers do not equal the nutrient quality of real eggs. They only replace the structural quality of eggs. There are other good quality protein foods to choose from such as fish, chicken and grass fed beef. Liquid egg replacers, such as "Egg Beaters," are made of egg whites, and, therefore, should not be used as alternatives to egg.

• Baked goods • Macaroons • Batter mixes • Malted drinks • Bavarian cream • Marshmallows • Boiled dressing
• Mayonnaise • Bouillon • Meat loaf • Breaded foods • Meringues • Breads • Noodles • Cake flours • Pancakes
• Creamy fillings • Puddings • Custards • Quiche • Egg drop soup • Salad dressings • Flan • Sauces • French toast
• Sausages • Fritters • Soufflé • Frosting • Tartar sauce • Waffles • Ice cream • Hollandaise sauce
• Eggs may be also be listed on food labels as… Egg protein - Ovalbumin • Egg white - Ovomucoid • Egg yolk - Ovomucin
• Albumin - Vitellin • Globulin - Ovovitellin • Livetin - Powdered egg