Posted by Rick on August 17, 2001, at 19:56:08
In reply to Re: MAOI diet short list, posted by Adam on August 17, 2001, at 17:51:59
> Thanks, Elizabeth. No suprises. I'm still _totally_ bummed about the banana peels. Some days I just get a craving, you know?
>
> I can second the miso soup caution: I had probably my worst "documented" (in that I recorded my b.p. some hours after eating it, and wrote it down in a log for posterity) hypertensive reaction to a food after consumption of miso: 186/104. I probably should have gone to the ER, but didn't. Anyway, I must mention that this was the first course of a large sushi and sashimi dinner, during which which a fair amount of soy sauce (well, more of a thermonuclear soy-wasabi "paste" of my own concoction that I am wont to consume) was used. However, I don't often take miso (it had been well over a year before that particular night since my last bowl), while I do often gobble sushi with the aforementioned condiments, so I atribute the reaction to the miso, at least in large part.
>
> I have yet to have a bad reaction to a bottled beer. On a somewhat more tentative note, I have yet to have a bad reaction to a draft/tap beer, though I have not been too adventurous in this area. The only tap beers I have tried have been of the Cheap American variety (Bud, Miller, etc.), in small amounts (no more than a pint over the course of an evening - I was excoriated once for this with a "nurse it, baby!"). I did try a somewhat-less-skunky variety of tap beer once, Sam Adams, and also had no problem. After a while I decided this was a bit like playing Russian Roulette, and quit consuming tap beer. I do not recommend it. These are just my experiences.
>
> One of the oddest reactions I have had, though, in retrospect, it shouldn't have been that suprising, was to Cliff Bars and Power Bars, those horrible, sawdust-emulsified high-energy bars outdoors buffs consume with giant volumes of water. They have soy extracts in them (as do many others of the "energy bar" variety), and I believe this was the source of the trouble. Another weird thing was a breakfast smoothie mix (the brand name escapes me, though I do remember it was strawberry-flavored) which, sure enough, had soy protein in it. This I found that out after developing a splitting headache and then running to the container to peruse the ingredients. My poor girlfriend thought she had killed me, but in the end I was OK. I pretended to have siezures for a couple days, which she did not find amusing, but no permanent damage.
>
> In general, I might avoid all those meal-in-a-can-for-granola-heads-style "energy" foods, anything with soy or other protein extracts in them. I've had bad experiences with every one I've tried which fit the above criterion.My pdoc, who fancies himself a kind of MAOI historian, says that the knowledge of MAOI food interactions first came to light when Europeans taking them started inexplicably "dying", while this wasn't happening in the U.S. This pattern was eventually linked back to the inter-continental differences in dining habits, especially with regard to heavily-fermented beers and aged meats, cheeses, kraut, etc. thus uncovering the tyramine connection.
My pdoc also insists that beef liver is fine, while chicken livers are a no-no. Finally, he says that he has encountered very few hypertensive crises (among his patients that is...I don't know if he takes an MAOI himself), and that men seem particularly unlikely to encounter problems.
For the record, I should point out that my pdoc doesn't always know what he's talking about. (Uh oh, I hope he's not reading this. On second thought, maybe I hope he IS reading this.)
Adam, 186/104 is not generally an "emergency" blood pressure reading, although perhaps if you're typically on the low side a sudden rise like this could be risky...especially if you feel symptoms. (Of course, 186/104 is always quite unhealthy if it's chronic.) I have a hypertensive friend who is taking five (!) blood pressure meds and attaining quite good control...usually 110-130/70-85. (Before treatment his previous doctor gaped in disbelief at a completely asymptomatic 220/120...but no secondary causes were found.) Every week or two his generally-controlled BP asymptomatically spikes to as high as 180/105, but his doc -- a nationally-prominent hypertension specialist -- tells him not to worry about that. In fact, he recently told my friend to STOP monitoring his BP at home!
Rick
poster:Rick
thread:75408
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010814/msgs/75437.html