plants for IBS and other digestive issues

Hi
I recently have had to stay in the hospital for severe GI related pain and had a lot of tests done and came home being told I have IBS. I plan to go to a doctor that tests for thinks like SIBO and actually looks at things like gut flora and food sensitivities but in the meantime I am trying to focus a lot of my gardening on growing plants that may help me with my digestive issues. I apparently might be able to grow some types of papaya outdoors here and the fruit might even ripen. So I am looking into that as a possibility (and wondering where to find GE free Papaya plants? ) and also looking for any advice anyone where may have for things to grow that may help me and really any advice at all for things that may help me.

High stomach acid, or low?

The doctor just said all the tests came back normal. It seemed like my stomach or digestive tract just went sort of crazy and everything was out of sink and it was trying to expel any food that entered and mostly unsuccessful accept for some vomiting. the stay at the hospital with zero food or water just iv fluids I think gave it a good rest and is part of why it is healing now. Before this happened my whole family got the flu and while it was a mild flu for us having sick little kids and being tired parents the husband and I ended up cooking and preparing far fewer veggies and a lot more starches. we are generally gluten free and I for sure ate no gluten at that time but some foods may have had some gluten on them. The pain was bad enough I was unable to go back to my normal diet that is very high in vegetables and fruits but today I have started to be able to return to that somewhat with green smoothie (for the first time in about 6 weeks)

My husband is now taking how the entire family eats very seriously which is great because I need his help and support to follow the diet that seems to work best for me. It means not eating any grains from what we can tell and possibly no potatoes or sweet potatoes but we are not certain about that yet.

I actually teach digestive health via diet. But if you are living a life style that you are on these forums, I say, sometimes people become ill. Don't change what your eating, atleast not immediately that, will make things worse. Alkalines, fiber, fennel, mint, cocoa.

LACTO-FERMENTED FOODS! !!!

my only concern is if I have SIBO will fermented foods make it worse? I have been having some fermented foods anyway since I don't know and am eating much smaller amounts of my normal foods and for now mostly managing pain by just eating small amounts it seems like most days I am able to eat a bit more than the previous day and some days the pain is really bad and I basically end up fasting for a day or mostly fasting at this point it has been so long I am trying to eat at least something every day even if it is small. I do normally eat whole foods mostly plants the meat comes from pastured animals not my own but the farms have good information and seem to be the best I can find. I do go back and fourth with vegan and not vegan for other reasons. Papaya enzymes seem to help a lot but I know they must be from GE papaya's so I am looking into growing my own papaya's and looking into anything else that may help me.

I am 4'10 and I started off overweight and still am a bit overweight which under the circumstances is good because I probably have been getting less than 500 calories most days and for a few weeks far less. at this point I may have managed to get more than that. I don't normally count calories but because of how little I am managing to eat I have looked into that somewhat. I am eating a lot less fruit in case sugar is part of this. normally the only sugar in my diet comes from foods.

I also have a strange rash on my feet that goes up to my knees and does not hurt or itch or in any way bother me and started months ago but honestly my digestion has been off all my life and has been slowly getting more off the past couple years. I want to heal this with nutrition! I have a strong history of food allergies and sensitivities in my family my grandfather developed them around the age I am at now and my father started having them as a child in both cases they where given heavy doses of antibiotics first and I have not had any antibiotics in at least a decade. When I felt the strongest and healthiest I follow the vegan eat to live diet which is very plant based but I think I got a few deficiencies so added in some meat mostly oysters mostly for the fatty acids. oh the rash while I was hospitalized all the doctors who saw it said wow that's a weird rash and then nothing more. The rash has me wonder if this is yeast related and if I need to stop with sugar. I found a doctor my insurance should cover who practices functional medicine and will actually look at tests for gut flora and all that lovely stuff. in the meantime I am well enough to garden and find I want to be growing plants that may be helpful in the future! So I am extra interested in what things I might start growing now and if they don't help me I am sure someone will be helped by them.

Sounds like a circulation problem. That might not seem like it makes sense, but do an adrenal flush and see how you feel. Do you have cramps in your calfs and joints? possibly some pelvic pain?

no joint pain or calf pain I have lots of pelvic problems that have all been worse since my daughter was born (she will be 4 in july) I also am a survivor of some pretty severe child abuse and I have heard but not looked into adrenal function problems related to stress from stuff that abuse like that causes like PTSD which I certainly have a very severe case of.

Hi Meryl.

I am doing a doctorate in natural healing. I am getting very well as a result. I discovered I had food allergies and it lead to all kinds of problems which are now reversing out. Even a bit if rheumatoid arthritis on my one baby finger has reversed out. It was the only place I was aware I had RA but it was swollen painful and twisted and ugly ..... and now pain-free and normal.

IBS needs to be taken seriously because if left undealt with you just go into all kinds of chronic problems due to increased mal-absorption of food and so a lack of nutrients available to the cells. I don't want to scare you just save you the years of struggle I went through due to ignorance. I wish someone had warned me earlier before I got so very sick. It didn't even enter my head that someone could be allergic to food. I am now aiming for optimal health and not just feeling well. My journey can now also help others... hence my desire to qualify.

The first thing I would do is come off all gluten and dairy. Try that for a month.... it takes that long to really see because you have to get clear of it all. If you have allergies with these you will notice a remarkable improvement within 2 weeks.... but the 1 month would really show you. It is pretty radical because most of our western diet is dairy and gluten saturated, but let's face it our western diet is not health producing at any remarkable level anyway. Chronic disease along with old age seems to have become accepted as the norm. Gluten and dairy are more prevalent allergens than generally recognised. Many people feel unwell all the time and if they just removed those 2 allergens they would become well. There are other common food allergies as well but I would start with these. You need to work at isolating what you are reacting to with irritation and inflammation of your innards. Inflamed bowels do not absorb food efficiently and you need to urgently remove the irritation or can start down the road to malnutrition due to mal-absorption.

The food that is most gentle and healing is fruit and raw foods. I am working at growing as much fruit as I can and greens. Organic is then assured. I also think growing root vegetables that you can juice are optimal too. I do an ABC juice.... apples, beets and carrots.... you can add a little ginger [excellent for inflammation] and lemon juice too if you fancy. Learn to do green smoothies so you can get more raw greens down. You can start with spinach and banana. Spinach is easiest to start with. Kale and watercress are excellent. With it all liquidised you will get easier access to the nutrients. You will find your body will re-educate taste when you keep giving something. Persist. It will move you toward health instead of plugging along and feeling a bit better on this and then that medical protocol. Go for all out healing and grow stronger as you grow older. It is worth it. Think of this as a blessing in disguise... that is how I now think of what I have been through because I am now in better health than those around me who have not had the challenges that I have had and I believe I have definitely increased longevity and most importantly vitality with that longevity... no good living long unless living strong.

You can dehydrate foods at less than 40 degrees C and will retain enzymes and life. I dehydrate lamb this way when I am craving meat. So you can even sort of stay omnivorous if you feel you can't do completely vegetarian. There are probably going to be those who have something to say about my dehydrating raw meat but I am not interested. I will only respond to that that cooked meat is so much harder to digest and utilize anyway. The enzymes in the body struggle to break cooked proteins down so that digestion of cooked meat is incredibly slow through the gut. Putrefaction sets in with all the unpleasant results too. So raw dehydrated lamb is my preference when I still crave meat. This needs to be your own choice. It is your health. I soak the lamb in apple cider vinegar overnight and then add Himalayan salt coconut oil and seasoning.... and dehydrate until dry. I then refrigerate. It is so tasty that it doesn't last long anyway but it could. No higher than 40 degrees C or you are cooking the meat. This is similar to traditional biltong made in South Africa. Biltong is never cooked before being air-dried.

Start by doing as much raw food as you can. Every meal should begin with fruit until full and then only eat something as before if you have to .... while transitioning from one lifestyle to another.

One thing also. If you find you just have to cook your food... then stop cooking with all oils except coconut. Even olive oil is unstable when heated. It is a marvellous oil for over salads because of the omega 9s but not for cooking as most people believe. Quit all salt except natural salt... my preference is Himalayan pink salt... it has 84 nutrients. Processed salt is just sodium chloride and is extremely toxic to the body and hence the whole 'don't eat salt' scare .... but you need salt... you need natural salt. People have actually died in heat waves simply because they were put on a very low-salt diet.

If you want to speed up your healing even more then look into intermittent fasting. This causes you to eat only in a smaller window of time each day and rests the gut longer, enabling more healing. I eat for the first time a noon and then eat until satisfied. You generally eat the same calories as you would through a whole day but for some reason because you only allow a ... say ... 5 hour eating window ... you will actually drop weight if carrying excess.

This is all a bit radical if it is all new to you I realise. It has been my way forward. I am not into drugs as a protocol because I only want things in my body that are non-toxic. Drugs are toxic and at best mask symptoms and do not cure. The body knows how to heal itself. Give it what it needs. If you find this helpful let me know. I am willing to buddy you here if this is of interest to you.

Chelle

I echo Fermented Foods (also know as, pre-digested foods) to get your good gut flora healing.

And be a little cautions about greens, some are hard to digest for some people. However, green juice (fiber removed) is much easier on your digestive system. As you heal you can add things back in to see how you react, but no matter what keep your fav fermented foods as part of your daily diet.

To start, try something simple like fermented-drinks: Kombucha, or Ginger Soda https://permies.com/t/2145/cooking/Lacto-Fermented-Soda-Ginger-Ale

I am really struggling to eat anything at all. I hate taking medications but after I ate some green smoothie the other day and avacado which have been my afest foods to eat since I got sick I ended up taking a prescription pain killer because I ate too much and the pain was skyrocketting. I was diagnosed with ibs many times in my life and have managed it with nutrition

I am frustrated that the doctors have not really done enough tests to say I have ibs to be honest since ibs is a diagnosis of we can't find what is wrong so it is ibs and they have not actually ruled everything else out yet. I will have to go to a doctor who practices functional medicine soon so I can have those tests.

eating anything cooked, raw, it seems like anything is just causing intense pain. i have had 2 home births and i have had broken bones and various injuries from bicycle falls and none of them compare to how intense this pain gets at it's worst and I keep losing weight. I see the regular GI doc on tuesday who just prescribes drugs and as much as I hate taking thoe medications at the moment I am not really eating enough to live so I am taking prescription drugs while I look for more answers.

Meryt: I believe that there are two main causes of IBS in my family... Some of us find wheat to be highly irritating. It causes inflammation, bloating, sore muscles/joints not associated with working, diarrhea, abdominal pain, etc. (That's me... I'll gain 7 pounds due to bloating within a day of eating one slice of bread. Then it takes about 3-4 days to subside. The only way I am able to manage that in my own life is to not ever eat wheat. But it's in every meal someone offers me!!!) The millennials in the family seem prone to IBS as a symptom of vitamin A deficiency, and that leads to mal-adsorption of vitamins, so it's a horrid spiral of degeneration. I have been able to somewhat mitigate that by adding beta-carotene capsules to the frying oils, and to any dish that can benefit from being more yellow. Another symptom of vitamin A deficiency that I watch closely for in young people is having a hard time seeing inside a building after being out in bright sunlight.

Joseph Lofthouse wrote:
Meryt: I believe that there are two main causes of IBS in my family... Some of us find wheat to be highly irritating. It causes inflammation, bloating, sore muscles/joints not associated with working, diarrhea, abdominal pain, etc. (That's me... I'll gain 7 pounds due to bloating within a day of eating one slice of bread. Then it takes about 3-4 days to subside. The only way I am able to manage that in my own life is to not ever eat wheat. But it's in every meal someone offers me!!!) The millennials in the family seem prone to IBS as a symptom of vitamin A deficiency. I have been able to somewhat mitigate that by adding beta-carotene capsules to the frying oils, and to any dish that can benefit from being more yellow. Another symptom of vitamin A deficiency that I watch closely for in young people is having a hard time seeing inside a building after being out in bright sunlight.

I have been totally grain free for at least 6 weeks at this point but I don't know about vitamin A I could very easily be deficient. That is something I will look into. what are good sources of vitamin A? i wonder if I have anything in the house I can have with vitamin A in them or I could get something tomorrow. Today has been the worst day in a few weeks and I am frustrated because I keep not really getting better. I mean I get a bit better then I get worse again and I can't tell if I am really getting better or if I just want to be getting better and am tricking myself. I am having a really bad day.

The first time my nephew got sick with vitamin A deficiency we gave him Beta-carotene capsules for a couple days, until his vision returned to normal, then I made sure to always have baby carrots in the house for him to snack on. Capsules typically come in doses of 500% RDA. I prefer to supplement with Beta-Carotene instead of vitamin-A because vitamin A at mega-dose levels can be problematic.

Orange vegetables like carrots and squash, and dark green leafy vegetables are the best sources of Beta-carotene that can be converted by the body to vitamin A. Animal liver is a rich source of pre-made vitamin A. I eat so much squash during the winter that my skin turns orange from all the Beta-carotene it contains. If it's not needed, it gets stored in body fat.

As a point-of-interest, we took my nephew to the doctor who diagnosed him with "colitis" since IBS wasn't a diagnosis back then. But when I went to the library to do the research (that was pre-Internet), every symptom that he presented with was the archetypal text-book-perfect description of vitamin A deficiency, including "I can't See".

Joseph Lofthouse wrote:
The first time my nephew got sick with vitamin A deficiency we gave him Beta-carotene capsules for a couple days, until his vision returned to normal, then I made sure to always have baby carrots in the house for him to snack on. Capsules typically come in doses of 500% RDA. I prefer to supplement with Beta-Catorene instead of vitamin-A because vitamin A at mega-dose levels can be problematic.

Orange vegetables like carrots and squash, and dark green leafy vegetables are the best sources of Beta-carotene that can be converted by the body to vitamin A. Animal liver is a rich source of pre-made vitamin A. I eat so much squash during the winter that my skin turns orange from all the Beta-carotene it contains.

thanks
I have a lot of carrots in the garden. I will get some in the morning and will see about getting supplements tomorrow as well. i will try just about anything. my eye site is perfect and i am not having any issues with seeing.

The eyesight problem with vitamin A deficiency typically manifests in my family as having a hard time adjusting to low indoor light levels after coming in from bright sunlight. To people with sufficient vitamin A the adjustment happens almost instantly. With deficient members of my family the change would take 4 to 10 seconds. Pay attention at the grocery store on a bright sunny day... About 10% of the people walk normally into the store, and then stop just inside the entrance like they were in a stupor. I suspect that they are stopping to allow their eyes time to adjust because they are deficient in vitamin A. The other symptom I have come to associate with vitamin A deficiency is rough/dry skin. I used to look for symptoms of vitamin deficiencies in everyone around me. Got too commonplace to care after a while.

thank you for explaining! I will pay attention to this. normally I have very very good night vision but I have not paid any attention to change in light levels or any of this lately. I have been to distracted with all this pain! I will see how my eyes are doing.

Joseph Lofthouse wrote:
The eyesight problem with vitamin A deficiency typically manifests in my family as having a hard time adjusting to low indoor light levels after coming in from bright sunlight. To people with sufficient vitamin A the adjustment happens almost instantly. With deficient members of my family the change would take 4 to 10 seconds. Pay attention at the grocery store on a bright sunny day... About 10% of the people walk normally into the store, and then stop just inside the entrance like they were in a stupor. I suspect that they are stopping to allow their eyes time to adjust because they are deficient in vitamin A. The other symptom I have come to associate with vitamin A deficiency is rough/dry skin. I used to look for symptoms of vitamin deficiencies in everyone around me. Got too commonplace to care after a while.

I changed everything* about a year ago. First, no sugar or sweetners, at all! Then, only organics, and only vegan. I am just now slowly adding foods. Not saying what I did would work for you, but I am in much better health. I still don't eat grains, and few beans. I usually steam the greens (kale and spinach) a little, and I seem to digest those easier. I added red cabbage to my juicing drink for the morning and I think that helped a lot, but time will tell. Good luck to you and I hope you can find some answers soon to your distress.

Fungus/yeast overgrowth can cause all those symptoms. If you are eating a low carb diet, the yeast will lie dormant, but feed it a little sugar and BAM! Major gut issues.

Staying on the diet will keep it at bay, but your body can't kill it on its own. It protects itself with biofilm and chiton shells. You need to supplement enzymes that will break those down.

I ordered those enzymes today! a friend suggested them to me.

I know this isn't a plant but I'd recommend using dehydrated goats whey. It is strongly recommended in the book called foods that heal by Dr.bernard Jensen
Copied this from vitashop

Mineral Matrix is a natural, highly concentrated and alkaline nutritious mineral food from the dehydrated whey of goat’s milk. Because it’s rich in minerals that come in a form that the body can easily assimilate, it helps to correct diet-caused mineral deficiencies that contribute to disease and ill health.

Product Features
A whole food mineral combination that is easily absorbed & digested by the body.
Electrolyte content provides for an alkaline effect that promotes absorption of nutrients.
Rich in important trace elements.
Mineral Matrix goats are organically raised as nature intended – grass fed & free from chemicals, hormones, antibiotics & commercial feeds.

Health Benefits
Helps fight osteoporosis.
Beneficial for weak & painful joints.
Plentiful source of electrolytes.
Strengthens immune system.
Soothes & heals the digestive & intestinal tract.
An all-around revitalizer.

Ingredients

Pure dehydrated goat milk whey. No preservatives or chemicals added.

Suggested Use

(Adults) 2 Tbsp to 8oz of water, juice, yogurt or smoothie and mix vigorously. Can also be added as a seasoning to salads, vegetables, casseroles, gravies and soups.

Why Goat’s Milk?
Today, over 65% of the world’s population drinks the milk of goats. Goat’s milk qualifies as foods high in potassium and calcium and the most like human milk in composition and is praised for its ready digestibility. Our bodies can digest goat’s milk in 20 minutes, whereas it takes 2-3 hours to digest cow’s milk. Moreover, the composition and size of goat milk fat globules are 5-10 times smaller than those found in cow’s milk. Goat’s milk is an alkaline food that is also naturally homogenized. Under the heading of dietetics and hygiene, the Journal of American Medicine, the official organization for over 100,000 physicians in the United States, writes, “The goat is the healthiest domestic animal known, and its milk is superior in every way to cow’s milk. Goat’s milk is the ideal food for babies, convalescents, and invalids, especially those with weakened digestive powers. Goat’s milk is the purest, most healthful and most complete food known.
Why do we need the minerals in Mineral Matrix™?
Since 90% of the minerals in milk are contained in the whey, MM minerals are a natural part of the microstructure of concentrated whey. Nutrient intake works best when groups of nutrients, including minerals, are available in the digestive tract at the same time. MM is a concentrated food that contains minerals in naturally occurring combinations that are well assimilated. Senate Document #264, 74th Congress, 2nd Session, claims there are serious nutritional deficiencies developing in this country because our food is lacking in certain minerals and trace elements the body requires to stay healthy. This claim was made in 1936! If concerns about the quality of our food were raised over 70 years ago, where does that leave us today? The obvious conclusion is supplying our bodies with foods high in potassium amd calcium and other minerals. What an excellent description of Mineral Matrix™!

Hope this helps

....digestive enzymes......squeeze the juice of a lemon into a cup of water, drink.... ahhhhhh....

I studied health of the human body for a number of years.....so my opinions on the subject will be strong... .....and I'm just gonna get to it. So I would recommend for everyone to do their own research.

The human body has a species appropriate food.
Generations of eating the improper foods...."and now we have a few generations of toxic "food" eating to contribute to it"..... compounds "unhealthy/disease/sick" situations in the body.... "why is it that children are now being born with cancer".... a question for everyone to answer for themselves. If you want to understand this deeper...look into, Pottengers cats....lots of info on the net.
If you continue to take probiotics, your body will begin to wonder why it needs to produce any, and will stop producing them.....though, the body will begin once the conditions are again correct. ..not really something to be overly concerned of for most... ...just wanted to make this aware to anyone that sees it. and if you're eating non-species appropriate food for your body... probiotics may be needed, because the body can't produce the correct ones required when it's continuously fueled with non-species appropriate foods. <----didn't spend a considerable amount of time studying this. but another thing to add.... honey is a prebiotic.... that ought to be another clue, as to what the body desires as a food source.
....if you're just sick and tired of being sick and tired...... youtube, robertmorsend

It would take pages and pages to extrapolate all the details and whys and how's, "and those pages/details are out there if you want to study it". But it really is quite simple......every species on this planet has a specific food/food's that are appropriate for their physiology... would it be any stretch of the imagination to consider that maybe humans also have a species appropriate food source........
When you look into the physiology of the human body, and consider what every single cell uses as a fuel source.....it becomes very clear.

It would also be appropriate of me to add.... the human body is capable of "miraculous" healing. If you study this subject long, you'll begin to find things/situations people have healed from that may be out of your current comfort of belief.. I've had people tell me that, conditions I've removed from my body, was a complete impossibility. LOL one thing we must admit to ourselves if we are wanting to grow and learn...... "we don't know, what we don't know" <---- I still live that, thinking that one day, maybe perhaps, I can go back to eating burritos. LOL .....but will I want to.... it feels so good to eat appropriately.

Hey Meryt,

So sorry to hear you're having so much pain and suffering. There are many things I could suggest that have worked for me, but I kind of feel every body is different and what helps one person can hurt another and vice versa. If you can afford it, or if it's covered by insurance, and you're interested in it, I would recommend finding a really good natural doctor to help guide you through everything. Those are hard to come by since many have different techniques and not all will work for you but if you can find someone who knows the body and all of the symptoms very well then you can really heal a lot. Even seeing a chiropractor can do quite a lot of healing.

As for plants/food Ive personally gained a lot of healing from drinking dandelion root tea (with honey and a tiny bit of organic 3% milk to make it taste yummy), kombucha, (homemade, not the stuff in the stores), eating lots of fresh fruit and veggies, healthy grains (I don't eat gluten really, and if I do it's one piece of whole grain toast per week, which is very high quality) soft boiled eggs, greek yogurt (probiotics!) and if I have meat I don't have very much and I never combine it with grains. I go very easy on legumes as well. No processed foods etc.

I really hope you find healing soon.

....did anyone mention food combining.....if not, then.... Food combining. Give it a google. It will make a big difference if you are already experiencing digestive distress. I would go even further and say, plan out your day....eat fast digesting foods from the morning on, and then later into the day, if you desire, begin eating those slower to digest foods.....again, properly combined though and planned out.

I am basically doing ok now. I just can't eat grains which caused problems before but cause more problems now. as long as I avoid them and most starchy things like potatoes I seem to be able to digest everything else fine with no issues. my kids also seem much healthier when we avoid all grains but they get some potatoes still. having to adjust cooking is difficult but I am creative and good at cooking so coming up with plenty of good recipes.

Glad you are feeling better. I had IBS too , still can't say it is totally gone as some things can set it off. My started after a very nasty stomach flu, which left me weak for many days, so it was probably some sort of nasty bacteria or virus. What helped me most was LOW Fodmaps diet. At first I avoided all foods, that are irritating to most people with IBS, and then just the ones, that were specific to me. Bulb onions and garlic give me trouble, although I can eat green onions -just the green part. Potatoes are actually just fine for me, and I do not eat gluten anyway for a while, and I do not eat gluten free grains very often either. I can have some milk and yogurt, but not much, and no hard cheese at all.
In terms of herbs - slippery elm seems to be the staple one. However I noticed, that recently we drank lots of herbal tea from cold and coughs, and my stomach was totally peaceful. The herbs we use are comfrey leaves, licorice, chamomile, hyssop, lobelia, coltsfoot, mint, globe amaranth, lemon balm and possibly a few others I forget. So not sure, if some of them are great for intestines too. Mint is for sure, and possibly others. Oh, I also took some cayenne, which I stuffed into capsules as I am not into hot foods, and I also upped cinnamon and turmeric use, which I like anyway.

I am managing my digestive issues with how I eat and doing well that way although it is at times difficult to be so restricted with food. I have a rash though which started before my recent digestive problems got very bad (i have had problems my entire life with every way of eating I have ever tried) the rash started on my feet and sort of resembled ringworm but is for sure not ring worm. it doesn't itch or hurt in any way and is not contagious at all in that my kids and pets all spend a great deal of time with me and no one has this rash but me in my household. the rash is spreading and now goes from my feet up both legs to my knees and seems to have started now on my right arm near my hand but also is slightly happening in the crease of my elbow on my right arm. the rash starts like a ring and slightly raised then goes all flat and becomes circular and is darker than the rest of my skin. when i am take a bath or am sitting still the rash gets lighter so it is less visible but when I walk or move the rash gets much darker. I think the rash is related to my most recent digestive stuff and I need to go find another doctor since none of the doctors who saw me cared about the rash. a few said it looked like fungus and to try treatments for that which I have been doing and which are clearly not helping at all. in the past few days it started up on my arm.

That sounds like a reaction to something. If it continues, I would go on some mono diet (hard I know) to figure out, what it is. My friend has psoriasis, which he figured out comes from artificial sweeteners he used. He actually tried to reintroduce them, and it came right back. Now he knows for sure. Also, did you buy any new clothes recently? My other friend had reaction to a cotton shirt she bought from Old Navy. She prewashed it once, but sometimes they do not even get properly wet in the wash with all the chemicals they put there. She got a rash, that kept spreading all over her body, and eventually into her throat, and had to go to emergency room because she couldn't breathe well. I had eczema from nettle, when I used lots of it in two week period. And I never had eczema as an adult, unless I count reaction to rue, but it was not eczema, but liquid filled bumps, and then welts. And that happened just from weeding in the dew. I will never have that herb in my garden, that's for sure.
Of course there could be other reasons. I hope you can pin point it soon.

I have been on a mono diet for several months. this rash moves very very slowly I can't tell anything based on food. it just keeps growing and I have cut out so many foods not sure what else I could cut out. I could go back to when I had 3 foods but the rash was still an issue then! I need to find the right sort of doctor and get answers I just have so much damn anxiety with doctors. ptsd is such a pita

Sorry you have to go through this. What were those 3 foods? But it might be not food then. Usually people realize what is wrong themselves, if it is unusual like this by searching for information. Doctors do not have time to look for information for patients as deep as person can do himself or herself. They can deal better with "standard" stuff.

I think the very first 3 foods where kale, fish (canned sardines in water) and avocado where ok then I added in lemon and salt which where also ok. I would need to check my notes to be positive. I seem to have some problems with starchy foods in general but more problems with grains than potatoes as far as starchy type things go.