Getting Started, Part 3 - Rationale for My Approach

The dietary approach that I am following personally, is informally dubbed by a few of us SNASies, as the INDD (Italian Nickel Detox Diet).  It is loosely based on the Mediterranean diet, and more specifically on the  Italian Low Nickel Detox Diet, adapted from Italian FB group - Allergia al Nichel - Il gruppo originale! -  ... with permission of the group's administrator, Mavie Aliena.  Versions of this diet are utilized and recommended by the medical community, and backed by extensive research, in Italy and Denmark.

A similar approach also seems to be getting more and more recognition  by researchers and medical professionals in the US and Canada, but I believe the lists that patients get here, often do not go into enough detail, or provide enough education to help us manage the fact that SNAS is allergy to accumulation (of nickel) while at the same time, it can provoke or exacerbate additional symptoms of excess histamine production in our bodies.  The INDD does take into account that to achieve symptom relief, it's important to give ourselves at least an eight (8) week period on both - a very low nickel diet combined with ideally, a low histamine diet as well.  This approach assumese that certain high histamine foods can keep us in cycles of reactions that may not be directly related to the accumulation of nickel in our bodies. This is what happened to me!  My body was very reactive even to low nickel foods, initially, but when I addressed the need to stay away from histamine-loaded foods, as well as nickel-loaded foods, my symptoms began to slow down and resolve.  Unfortunately, I hadn't realized that there was a whole diet in Italy that addressed this 2-prong approach, and I thought that this was a situation unique to my body.  So, I would constantly have to consult several different lists as well as the nickel "counting" lists and the Ni App.   When I discovered the Italian groups I was thrilled!

Their philosophy is that during the "detox" period, this combined approach allows the body time to naturally "detox", or naturally eliminate the nickel in our digestive tract from our former nickel-loaded diet, while helping reduce symptoms more quickly than the low nickel diet alone. 

The Mediterranean Diet Pyramid
Modifications for the INDD (or  a Modified Mediterranean Diet for SNAS):
While we must exclude most whole grains, nuts and legumes, and a number of dark green vegetables during the detox phase of the INDD,  this pyramid depicts the Mediterranean approach - We must also, ideally include perhaps more meet, fish and eggs initially, during the nickel detox period, the focus is on whole foods, variety in choices, drinking water always, and daily physical activity.   

In other words, or to reiterate - the INDD goes a step further in the early stages of the low nickel diet that is normally recommended here in North America, because it  embeds in its philosophy the role of histamine production in our GI systems, and the role that histamine reduction n symptom plays with allergies that manifest through the same or parallel pathways in our bodies.  So, it is intentionally designed to also reduce our consumption of high histamine, and histamine liberating foods.  The good news is that many high nickel foods are already, coincidentally high in histamine, so it only takes a few tweaks to customize the "dual" approach! The basic theory is that Healing takes longer if we consume too many histamine foods during the detox period of the low nickel diet, because they provoke similar symptoms in a vast majority of people with SNAS.

I think it is really important to learn about the nickel content of your food, and not just follow lists that have been provided to us, which can be either outdated or not relevant to our geographic area, or to the area where our foods are grown.  I know, this just sounds like too much! But it becomes important in the context of this allergy being one of "accumulation" - Researchers have suggested that to be free of symptoms, you must eat below the threshold of 150 ug total dietary nickel per day. Other researches peg it as high as 250 ug per day. Many of our peers say they actually need to be as low as 100 or fewer ug per day ... Children under 12 also must consume below 100 ug of nickel per day. 

All this takes time, and it isn't always completely necessary to change your life overnight, unless you are very ill.  Start with the basics - Part 1, and move toward starting the full INDD (Italian nickel detox diet), in Part 2, after a week or 10 days.  

The "Getting Started, Part 1" document is something I created myself, distilled from and supported by research, and accepted practices by health providers who deal with the allergy around the world. I believe it is quite comprehensive enough to get new SNASies started.

"Getting Started, Part 2", is the INDD in detail, translated from the Italian, and adjusted to reflect foods available in North America.  It may continue to be adjusted over time, as we learn more.  Both these posts will be edited and revised soon, to reflect my own learnings as I move through the diet and the research.  And of course, we should maintain a practice of checking the Ni content in foods lists (the Ni App and/or the other lists I have included in the side-bar of this blog.

Getting Started on the Low Nickel Diet, Part 2 - The INDD (Italian Nickel Detox Diet)

*Revised April 20, 2017*
Listed here is an updated version of the Italian Nickel Detox Diet. Adapted from the Italian online community "ALLERGIA AL NICHEL: il gruppo originale!" (on Facebook) 

The "Key to the Diet" page provides a more or less direct translation of the Italian original text, and hopefully it clarifies some questions, and key concerns that Canadians and Americans have around how to manage the diet.

The KEY is still too lengthy and disjointed, but that is how the Italian version reads.  In time I will continue to edit and re-organize it and the diet itself to meet our needs.  A work in progress ...

The food charts themselves have been partially adjusted to include some common food names and examples that weren't included in the Italian version.  These are highlighted in red.

Getting Started on the Low Nickel Diet, Part 1 - The Basics

The "Italian Nickel Detox" Diet 

(revised 20-03-2017)

CLICK HERE FOR THE DIET

If you have been diagnosed with or suspect you have Systemic NickelAllergy Syndrome (SNAS), it is important to understand that it is connected with, or is a consequence of Allergic Contact Dermatitis - and one of the most effective treatments is to implement a low-nickel diet.  Systemic reactions to nickel can be closely connected with the naturally occurring presence of the element - nickel in our foods, or to the presence of added nickel through preparation, manufacturing, packaging and cooking methods. 

The low nickel diet can significantly reduce the following symptoms of nickel allergy or intolerance - dermatitis, hives, eczema, rashes and i(often extreme) itching.  Other symptoms include headaches, migraines, asthma, IBS, colitis, joint swelling and pain, tinnitus and more.  These symptoms often occur with a number of other conditions, so SNAS is often difficult to diagnose as a result.

In order to achieve symptom reduction, it is important to avoid certain foods.  The low-nikel diet recommendations fall under 3 general categories:

·                Foods that naturally contain Nickel : beans, peas, nuts seeds chocolate, and more;

·                Foods that do not contain nickel, but that come into contact with certain processing and baking procedures : flour milling, acids (tomato products, lemon, citrus) cooked in stainless steel cookware, canned food;

·                Foods that absorb the Nickel from soil in which they are grown (dark leafy greens, root vegetables),or the waters in which they are caught or bred: the tap water that comes in contact with nickel in the plumbing pathways and pipes.

FOODS TO AVOID

It's easier to start with the top nickel-loaded foods - and to eliminate them right away.  And consider that most other foods will be relatively safe in a balanced diet.
Many foods (including many that are normally considered very healthy otherwise) contain traces of nickel,that contribute to, or trigger reactions for those of us who are allergic or highly intolerant, while causing no such reactions to otherwise healthy individuals.  The top nickel-loaded foods include:

1.            Chocolate and cocoa powder: these are the foods with the highest concentration of absolute Nickel, caused by the long refining processes and constant contact with steel machinery. Cocoa powder has a nickel concentration of 9.8 ug per gram!

2.            Cashews : despite their purported health benefits in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, these nuts are among the highest in Nickel and therefore must be eliminated

3.            Beans and legumes , especially lentils

4.            Green leafy vegetables :  such as spinach, lettuce, kale and certain cabbages should be avoided.

5.            Whole wheat flour and whole grains have a high concentration of Nickel

6.            Peanuts, almonds and walnuts and seeds : flax seeds, sunflower seeds

7.            Soy : including tofu, soy sauce and soy beans

8.            Shellfish : shrimp, oysters, clams

9.            Meat and canned fish , like “tinned beef or pork” or canned tuna, salmon, herrings etc.

10.        All canned products : green peas, chickpeas, legumes in general, fruit, peeled

Other foods to avoid or reduce with a lower concentration of nickel:
Raw tomatoes, onions, carrots, beer, red wine, eggs, asparagus, parsley, peppers, potatoes, yeast.
These foods can be eaten sparingly, but it is suggested to avoid in the early stages of the low nickel diet.

In addition to the foods to avoid, some important suggestions:

DAILY HABITS - What to include:

·                Eat foods rich in Iron -  to counteract the absorption of nickel;

·                Take Vitamin C  - also counteracts nickel absorption

·                Use cookware suitable for those suffering from allergies to heavy metals:  ceramic, glass, carbon steel, cast iron.  For stainless steel,  the 18/10 acronyms, 18/8 and 18/0  on the pans reflect the ratio of nickel alloy in the material.  Stainless steel it is an alloy composed of iron, chromium, nickel and other metals. The first number indicates the percentage of chromium present in the alloy, the second shows the percentage of nickel. If you are allergic to the latter material, it is therefore necessary to choose pots and pans in stainless steel 18/0, ie totally free of nickel.

·                do not use aluminum foil in the kitchen

·                drink a lot of water

This should all help get you started on the low-nickel way of life, and you are encouraged to keep exploring and learning more.



WANT TO GO STRAIGHT TO THE DIET?   CLICK HERE!