Just wondering if anyone has tried to heal their gut and how they got on?
I have cut out alcohol, coffee/tea, sugar, nightshades, dairy, grains, eggs, processed foods...so basically there is not a lot left! I'm bored to tears with eating the same stuff day after day
The plan was to stick with this for a month then re-introduce foods gradually but as today is the start of week 3 and I don't feel a great deal different I think it's going to take a bit longer than a month.
I'd be really interested in hearing any success stories to spur me on!
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infomaniac
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I found l-glutamine + vitamin A working for me. Plus B12. I am not fully recovered but my gut feels far better. Vitamin A and l-glutamine helps to tighten the lining of your gut.
It might take long time before feeling better depending what you are missing. Healing your gut might not do the trick if you are suffering from deficiencies.
I started with 2500 IU for two weeks , then reduced to about half of it (1200 IU) for six weeks and then continued with 600 IU until the fish oil bottle was empty.
Since I have been taking vit A occasionally, about 600 IU twice a week maybe until I was tested low on vit D. Vit A counteract possible toxity of vit D but also works together with vit D.
Now that I eat liver I do not supplement vit A.
Vitamin A made a huge difference, my gut feels so much better. Now I am natural antibiotics to fix the gut bacteria.
Have you had your vitamin and mineral levels tested? Especially vitamin D, vitamin B12, ferritin and folate? If you have post the results and ranges even if they are "normal".
Hi Justiina, I'm taking l-glutamine too. How long did it take before you noticed a difference?
Bluebug, my last results are as follows:
B12 377 pmo/L 145-569.00
Serum folate 7.8 ug/L 4.60 -1870 ug/L
Serum vit b12 377 pmo/L 145.00-569
Serum ferritin 135 ug/L over 60 def unlikely
over 200 indicates overload in pre menopausal women
Vit D 137 nmo/L over 50 vit D sufficiency
My folate is low but as my GP doesn't believe my symptoms are thyroid-related I am trying to raise the levels with a good B complex. I will go back as soon as I feel any better and ask to be tested again.
Yes I am trying to improve my B12 too. I am following a bit of a mish-mash of protocols and one said not to take any supplements until I was all sorted but I've just started taking them again as it seems mad not to as I don't want my levels to fall back again.
Some of the foods you have cut out contain B vitamins e.g. dairy products, eggs. So it's weird to cut out food groups and not supplement when you are deficient in them.
You're totally right. I was having egg yolks up until yesterday when my tummy swelled up massively so they have gone the journey too The bonus of eating such a spartan diet is it's easier to work out what affects me!
Hi infomaniac , I'm going to start the AIP in a couple of days and I'm interested in hearing your progress, you mentioned you still don't feel great and so do they suggest not reintroducing foods until you do?
Did you experience any die off? This is what I am most worried about?
Last 2 questions is L-glutamine a supplement and are you following a programme?
Hi K1k1, as I mentioned above I am following a mish mash of different protocols, taking l glutamine and cutting anything vaguely tasty out! Thank the lord for garlic!
The first couple of days I felt dreadful (headaches, nausea) but that went by day 3 and I felt OK ( and as a bonus have lost 6 pounds )
L glutamine is an amino acid which is supposed to help patch up the leaky bits in the gut. Feel free to ask me any questions and let me know how you get on xx
I take L-Glutamine powder, not the capsules. The capsules are too low a dose to have any impact in my opinion. I take a heaped teaspoon of L-Glutamine twice a day, sometimes even three times if I remember. I mix it with plain water since it has virtually no taste and no smell to worry about.
L-Glutamine must not be mixed with hot food or drink. Heat destroys it.
What dose have you been taking?
Justiina above mentioned Vitamin A. I started taking that a few months ago and I do remember it made me feel better, but unfortunately I can't remember any more specifically than that. I still take it. The thing about vitamin A is that many people with thyroid problems can't convert carotenoids (e.g. beta-carotene which is a pro-hormone, not the actual vitamin itself) into proper vitamin A. I take retinyl palmitate which I think is a ready-made version of vitamin A (I'm saying that from memory, I haven't checked the name). It is important not to overdo the ready made vitamin A. It can cause problems if taken in excess.
I took vitamin A in high quality cod liver oil , first large dose 3200 mcg for a month as advised by dietitian and then reduced to safe level 1600 mcg for another month and then to 800 mcg.
You remember right, Zinc was recommended too as a last thing before bedtime. But I get poisoning symptoms on relatively small dose so I didn't take it so often. Having poisoning symptoms does not mean you take too much, we are individuals and react differently.
Well that explains a lot-nowhere in all the reading I did did I ever see anything about not taking it with anything hot! I've been taking it in my hot water and lemon in the mornings. Also, I thought you weren't supposed to go over the measly prescribed amount (5g) but clearly that's wrong too. I'm so glad I posted on here or might have been struggling for even longer!
PS: Can I just add....bone broth??? Is it supposed to be so bland?
With regard to quantity, there are different opinions. I've had no problems taking the quantities that I do and taking a high dose seems to be quite common. That link I gave above from scdlifestyle suggests building up dose gradually which seems to be a sensible precaution with any new supplement, in my opinion.
You can add vegetables, herbs and spices and seasoning to bone broth to add flavour. It is just stock after all!
I can't eat bone broth as is, I make it into soup with spinach and carrots, nettles if I can be bothered plus garlic and onions. Blitz it in the blender and serve with creme fraiche if you arent dairy free...
Yes I read the link. I will definitely increase gradually and have my fingers crossed that it will lead to great things!
My poor hubby knocked himself out adding anything permissable (which isn't a great deal!) to the stock but it was still tasteless. I am going with chicken bones at the moment as they definitely have more flavour.
I have gone dairy and gluten free, which has helped a bit but not in the positive drastic way it has for others. i.e. my level of antibodies for Hashimoto's haven't declined. Luckily my symptoms weren't too drastic but the symptoms I do have (disorganised, distracted, find it difficult to remember instructions, poor memory, feel the cold, headaches and groggy feeling in the morning, dry eys, mouyt etc) haven't really improved significantly, but have probably improved a bit. I've been on Levothyroxine for 4 years now started on 25mcg, slowly went up to alternating 75/62.5 mcg. I eat a fairly healthy diet, which has led me to be slightly underweight. Salads (still eating night shades: tomatoes and potatoes - I should probably try to give them up for a month as well as the legumes - beans and nuts). I did an intolerance test which showed sensitivity to dairy, yeast, kiwi, brazil nuts, certain wines and turkey. The gluten was picked up as equivocal in a previous test which I took as meaning slightly sensitive (I had been gluten FREE previous to the test, so I might have come out as more sensitive if I had been eating gluten right up to the test). You might find this interesting: draxe.com/leaky-gut-test/
It would be nice to know where to go in the UK to test for leaky gut.
Chris Kresser has read on researching healing leaky gut and has a Paleo Autoimmune Protocol (I haven't done it yet). Izabella Wentz has a chapter in her book explaining about different diets you can try, (e.g. Body Ecology Diet, gaps, paleo...) for Hashimoto's. She recommends having easy to digest foods to begin with and to also have lots of fermented food.
Izabella had this link in her book - drknews.com/autoimmune-gut-... I haven't read it yet. Let me know if it's any good.
I have cut so much out there's not much left! I feel OK but am still having bloating issues, but after reading your Dr K link I have been having pineapple and banana which are apparently no-nos so I'll have to ditch them too I'm going to see a friend who is a Kinesiologist to see if she can work her magic and give me a bit of a clue where I'm going wrong. The l-glutamine doesn't seem to be having any effect as yet.
I'm a bit like you in that I have symptoms but feel generally OK...I just really, really want to massively reduce my antibodies then I will start living again (but very carefully!!)
For me, it was a revelation reading Dr. Michael Mosely's 'The Clever Gut's Diet' The book explains that most auto immune illnesses are caused by early use and long term antibiotics rendering our guts baron of all bacteria including the good stuff that takes care of general health and major inflammation in the body. He explains how we can re set our biome by illumination but for the long term not to cut out whole food groups unless you are diagnosed with a specific illness that requires you to do so. I now believe that my alopecia and hypothyroid is caused by heavy use of antibiotics when I was a young child for all manner of illnesses. I am now making my own milk kefir and water kefir and looking to make more fermented food very soon for the diverse probiotics. I have only been using kefir for a week so far and my poo has never been so good. Not loose but just right and doesn't have a foul smell anymore.
I am currently fermenting (I hope!) some sauerkraut, however I find most probiotics seem to bloat me. It's supposed to be temporary but it doesn't seem to ease off with me
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