I'm going to write this post about an area of your body you normally don't want to talk about: your gut. No, I don't mean your belly fat, I mean your actual gut, your intestines and colon. This is an area that has become very important to me. I didn't know my gut was in need of a lot of healing, but now that it's functioning much better I'm very surprised that I ever put up with how poorly it was functioning before. I didn't know I was suffering from irritable bowel syndrome until I reduced its irritation.
The problem is, I'm not an expert on this. I am still healing and still learning. I'm not in a position to write about details, but I am in a position to share research studies with you and tell my story (so far.) I hope this post encourages you to take another look at your gut health, especially as the underlying cause of many of your other (seemingly) unrelated health struggles.
I'll start with my experience...
When I saw my naturopathic doctor for the first time, I was not expecting him to say anything about my gut. I thought I was going to him to get help with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, heart palpitations, and possibly mental heath issues. I quickly found out that I actually went to him to get help with the many root causes of those symptoms, including irritable bowel syndrome. I was surprised, because up until that point I really thought that IBS was caused by eating high fructose corn syrup, which I never eat because I'm allergic to corn, because of several studied I had read. The next day I returned to his clinic for my first treatments, including a colonic irrigation. I didn't know what it was, so believe me when I say I was a little shocked when I saw the machine with the tube for the first time. A nurse (both nurses at the clinic are the nicest, most gentle, most amazing nurses you can imagine,) inserted a tube into my butt that poured sanitized water up my colon and then let it flow back out through the tube. After 45 minutes, I lost several pounds of waste out of my colon through that tube, and it felt wonderful. I felt lighter, more clear-headed, more stable, and more free. Before the colonic, my brain wasn't working well - I didn't have the energy to think. In fact, I had a very difficult time forming sentences because I couldn't remember the words. It was amazing how much better my brain worked out of that colonic. I felt better able to converse with my doctor and the nurses, and I could actually think through decisions better. Within the following week, I also noticed that I wasn't as gassy or bloated. I didn't have sharp pains in my gut when sitting down or moving around (that I honestly thought were normal because I had them so long.) I had a much easier time in the bathroom (I didn't realize I was struggling before.) I also noticed that slowly, over the following weeks, that I was getting bloated and foggy-headed again. Every time I go back to the clinic, I look forward to those colonic. They're one of the fastest forms of relief I've ever experienced. (Note: There is a TON of media out there saying that colonic irrigations are dangerous and they don't work. In fact, you'd think Google was paid to not show you any positive results for a colonic irrigation. The problem is, they don't define "work." In my experience, they have been very relieving, very hydrating, and perfectly safe. I personally would never want to try a DIY system - I've only done a "closed" system in which the nurses controls the machine and the tube the whole time. There's great information about colincs here.)
I've been following my doctor's regimen (diet, supplements, exercise, and more) for a little more than a year now. I've noticed a huge difference in my gut. When I'm eating right and am not suffering any type of MCS reaction, my gut is flat, handles waste very well, doesn't cause me any type of pain, and is very gentle on the rest of my organs. When I'm doing something wrong or am suffering a MCS reaction, it lets me know. It bloats (sometimes by a couple inches,) makes me feel like I have the flu, sends waves of discomfort through my whole body, makes me feel gassy without actually releasing any, and makes it very difficult to go to the bathroom. I also get the most foggy-headed when my gut isn't feeling well.
I've noticed another very important point, which will be the topic of my next "Menstrual Solutions" post: I'm fairly sure a good portion of my menstrual pain was coming from my gut, not my reproductive organs. The better my gut health, the lesser my menstrual pain. I've discovered that the pain of trouble in my colon is the exact same pain that almost crippled me on the first day of my periods for the past several years.
It's been a year, and I haven't quite mastered keeping my gut happy. I'm guessing it isn't done getting repaired anyway. I made my poor gut suffer for many years. I've recently figured out one of the problems. Almonds. As many of you know, I'm on a very limited, very strict diet. No grains, no sugar (not even fruit or honey,) no starches, no alcohol, no dairy, and no nightshades. Even my selection of vegetables is very limited because many are starchy, sugary, and difficult to digest. What this means is that when something causes me to react, it isn't hard to figure out what it was. My gut was improving a lot over the year, but I was still fighting heavy bloating trouble. We started by eliminating the whey protein powder in my protein shakes and switching to organic pea protein. That actually helped, so I thought I had found the culprit. I think because I cleared up the issues from the whey powder that I had an easier time detecting a problem from almonds. I was still bloating after drinking the shakes, but I was using almond milk. I noticed that my heart lightly palpitated after eating almond butter. Regretfully, because I love almond milk and almond butter, I cut almonds from my diet. This was just a few weeks ago. Now, the only time I bloat is when I drink too much water, but that's a different issue with my kidneys that I'll get into in another post. Yesterday I tried an experiment: I ate almonds at bed time (I need a bit of protein to help me sleep and not wake up with overly low blood sugar.) I've been gassy, constipated, bloated, and a big foggy all day. Very unpleasant. Of all things, almonds! So now I have to use coconut milk, which I like, but is much more expensive. I also have switched to sunflower seed butter, which is working well for me and is cheaper, but not as tasty. Oh well.
My own personal conclusions...
I'm guessing that most people who have health issues probably have some degree of an irritated bowel. It has become clear to me that the health of my gut is in direct correlation with my mental health. I always struggle with brain fog or anxiety when my gut isn't well. Always. I can struggle with anxiety when my gut is well, so I won't say that gut health is the only cause of anxiety. It has also become clear to me that my joint pain is worse when my gut isn't happy. I've also noticed that I have more acne when my gut isn't happy. My periods are more painful when my gut isn't happy. I'm more fatigued when my gut isn't happy. I get occasional heart burn and indigestion when my gut isn't happy. When my gut is happy and functioning well, I usually am too.
My conclusion is that caring for our gut is one of the most important steps to caring for our overall health!
I recommend...
Eliminating grains. Here's the deal: Even if you're a person who can tolerate certain grains, it won't hurt you to eliminate them for a couple of weeks just to see what happens. Wheat, specifically, is known to cause inflammation of the gut as well as leaky gut syndrome. In fact, it's arguable that wheat (at least in it's modern form,) isn't meant for human consumption, but I'll get to that in the next section. In some people, like myself, all grains have have this effect in the gut.
Eliminating sugar. You don't need sugar. It's not a necessarily nutrient. In fact, it doesn't offer any benefit to the body, but it does do harm. What you need is glucose, which your body makes by breaking down other forms of nutrients. If you only eat protein, fats, and complex carbohydrates, you will get enough glucose. Trust me - I've increased my blood glucose by avoiding all sugar. Try eliminating sugar in every possible form along with grains. I mean ALL sugar: no fruit, no honey, no packaged food (which almost always has added sugar,) no juice, no glazed nuts, no beets, no jerky (unless you make it yourself to avoid sugar,) no salad dressing... you get the idea. Do not replace it with artificial sweeteners - they can do more damage than the sugar itself! Here's the deal: sugar causes inflammation. It also feeds bad bacteria, yeast, and infections. By eliminating sugar, you eliminate the right environment for bad bacteria, yeast, and infections to build and grow. Your gut can then naturally heal itself.
Eliminate alcohol. Just try it for a couple of weeks along with the sugar and the grains! Alcohol is usually based on sugar and grains, so it should be obvious that alcohol should be avoided. Furthermore, alcohol kills all bacteria, even the good bacteria. You will not notice an improvement in your gut health if you kill off the good bacteria that helps it heal.
I highly recommend also eliminating dairy. Dairy is high in sugar (lactose,) but it also causes inflammation and causes your body to produce mucus. Ask any vocalist: they never consume dairy before a performance because it it produces mucus in their throats. While some people do seem to digest dairy well, the more I talk to people, the more I find that people who have eliminated dairy do feel a lot better. I, personally, never reacted to dairy. I used to eat cheese, yogurt, and milk regularly without any obvious consequence. I did, however, lose quite a bit of weight after eliminating just dairy. I also noticed my joint pain wasn't as bad and I wasn't catching colds as easily as everyone else. And before you say, "But yogurt has probiotics" I'll respond. First, most major yogurt companies don't actually include any probiotics ("Live Active Cultures" doesn't necessarily mean probiotics.) Second, the companies that do include probiotics don't include very many. Third, most major yogurt companies culture the yogurt so quickly that there is no time for the probiotics to grow and cultivate. They need about a day to culture properly to offer you benefits, but many yogurt companies only let their yogurt cultivate for about 4 hours. There are better sources of better probiotics. I love this argument.
For the sake of the experiment, I also recommend avoiding broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and brussel sprouts. They are brassica vegetables, which can make you fairly gassy. They'll throw off the experiment.
After a couple of weeks, see how your gut feels. I'm willing to bet you will lose weight - maybe even a lot of weight. I'm willing to bet you'll feel more clear-headed and mentally sharp. I'm willing to bet that you'll find going to the bathroom is a lot easier, and you might even go more often. I'm also willing to bet that you'll be less gassy and in less pain.
After those two weeks, you can try to reintroduce grains, sugar, and dairy one at a time. See how you react. You might quickly find that you bloat, get gassy, or get cramps. It's a sure way of knowing just how poorly your gut has been feeling. It's also a good way of finding out what you're intolerant to!
Don't just take my word for it. Check out all this research...
How the gut affects the brain:
A Healthy Gut Means a Healthy Brain by Dr. Amy Myers
The Gut-Brain Connection, Mental Illness, and Disease on Psychology Today
Connection between gut health and overall health:
You Are What you Digest and Absorb by Dr. Amy Myers
Inflammation Connection by Kelly Brogan MD
Gut Health Linked to Heart Disease and Stroke on Huffington Post
Healing our guts:
4 Steps to Heal Leaky Gut by Dr. Axe (Though I disagree with eating dairy.)
Is Your Digestive System Making You Fat by Dr. Mark Hyman
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