How did you heal your gut?

[Joanne82]

Just wondering how people went about healing their gut? I’ve read a lot of conflicting advice and would be keen to know what people did themselves.

Thanks

Joanne

[Murphysmum]

Sorry I can’t help but I’m hoping others will be along to enlighten you and me! I’d like more info on this too 😉

[Peanut31]

Hi

I looked quickly on your previous post and see you have been diagnosed with Hashimotos (didn't read further)

Have you gone gluten and dairy free?, with Hashimoto's it can lead to leaky gut.

I use to have awful tummy pains so much so I was doubled up in pain and couldn't move.

Since I knocked gluten on the head and dairy it has been better.

Keep sugary foods to a minimum, that includes fruits juices and fizzy drinks, diet or full fat. I tend to only eat freshly prepared foods and no processed food, eg, salads, stir frys, home made soups, jacket potatoes.

I am under a nutritionist to help me further and I take AFP - Pertizyde and saccharomyces boulardii and serrapeptase. Obviously, this has been tailored to my symptoms.

Best Wishes

Peanut31

[Joanne82 in reply to Peanut31]

Thank you, I’ve gone gluten free and I’m in the process of kicking dairy - I just need to give up my beloved ice cream 🙈 trying to remove Soy and my next step is to limit sugar which will probably be my hardest.

I keep reading about people doing an AIP diet but it seems really extreme and I’m wondering if it’s a necessary evil but on the other hand I’ve seen people take your approach.

It may be that I take a leaf out of your book and try a nutritionist as I’m assuming I have leaky gut as it’s hand in hand with Hashimotos but how do you even know if you’ve healed it?! So confused 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Peanut31 in reply to Joanne82]

I had a stool sample taken, cost a lot of money and it came back with very in dept details about how my gut was coping and what bacteria I had.

I made changes to my diet, and then I am due to have another stool sample to see if the changes I have made have helped.

I also had food intolerance testing carried out (blood test) and it came up with loads of foods that my immune system and gut responded to in a negative way. This was all via my nutritionist as she was able to explain the results and help moving forward.

I was experiencing popping noises in my tummy, bloating, and terrible tummy cramps, constipation, this was down to eating gluten 100%.

I also made a connection when I had anything dairy my airway felt swollen and in my fingers and toes I had muscular pains.

I have been introducing foods back in, I had a banana the other day, big mistake I had a terrible headache and felt worn out, had to lay down and rest.

I not going to introduce gluten back as I know it causes me major issues.

It is hard to give up everything, don't get me wrong sometimes I have days where I think buggar it. I will have some gluten free cakes etc. I try not to have too much gluten free bread, cakes etc as full of sugar.

I've given up my fizzy drinks as well but.

if it makes me feel better I am willing to give it a go and give things up.

Ice cream doesn't bother me, Milk in my tea I use Almond milk or Oat-ly they sell them in Asda near the long life milk.

Chocolate - Very good quality dark chocolate (not lindt as has gluten in) or Moo chocolate, Gluten and dairy free.

I try not to have too much fruit, I use to eat loads, but, this has sugar as well, so I make sure I keep an eye on the fruit in take. Plenty of veg and chicken, fish and red meats to keep my iron levels up.

As we have Hashimoto's it means that often our vitamin levels are not very good, at the moment my nutritionist doesn't think I am absorbing vitamins etc correctly. I have lines on my finger nails and they are breaking off, this is a sign of thyroid condition and nutrition issues

Hope this helps

Best Wishes & good luck.

Peanut31

[Joanne82 in reply to Peanut31]

Thank you, that’s a big help, I guess I need to take it a step at a time and keep a food diary. I’ve found it easier than I thought to eat gluten free but I guess it’s time to tackle the sugar next!

[AnnaSo in reply to Joanne82]

Everyone is different Joanne and we will all do well on different types of diet. There are some commonalities though: gluten free, dairy free, soy free, low sugar. Point is to heal the gut and not irritate it with reactive foods but we all react to different ones. Some here can eat gluten, some cannot. I’m fine with dairy (although choose not to eat it) but struggle with fructose. It’s trial and error. You will have to observe your body.

I struggled with tummy issues for years and eventually healed with Ayurveda. It helped the gut shame did not do any magic with thyroid but I’ll take it

[Joanne82 in reply to AnnaSo]

Thank you for your help, I think it’s time to get myself a food diary and start trying to eliminate things one thing at a time and see how it goes before jumping head first into a lot of things, thank you!

[AnnaSo in reply to Joanne82]

Problem is you might be reacting to few things at the same time. If you’re really struggling elimination diet is a good start but drastic in terms of limitations. Perhaps try cutting out the common offenders: gluten, dairy and soy and see how you go? If issues persist you’ll know to look further

[AnnaSo in reply to Joanne82]

Another common irritant is coffee! 😭 I cope ok with one or two but more makes my tummy rumble. Someone also mentioned soda drinks - definitely a no go for me! It actually made a massive difference just cutting out Diet Coke! You’d think oh once upon a time is ok but in my case it is no way, ever again or rumbling tummy for days!

[Joanne82 in reply to AnnaSo]

Good grief! It just seems it’s all the fun things 🙈

[Kipsy]

Hi. First I went strictly gluten free then I went on the Paleo diet (which I interpreted as no grains or dairy) for about 10 months but kept dairy in as I found changing too much at once too overwhelming. I made bone broth in a slow cooker and drank it regularly but it was messy to make, especially if using beef bones and I was told that chicken ones had to be organic (too much mercury otherwise) which was too expensive to do very often. I googled grain free bread recipes (Danielle Walker has a good one with eggs and cashew nuts but it works out quite pricey so I prefer Michael Mosley’s ‘breakfast bread’ and I substitute 40g of buckwheat flour for the same amount of almond flour to get a more breadlike texture.) Lunch was the hardest meal to cope with- I was so used to a quick sandwich. Now I do something with some veg (stir fried grated courgette with garlic and chilli flakes today after @Marz suggested it to me and added some cold chicken.) I find once I’ve spent ten minutes chewing all the veg, I feel like I’ve had a meal.

I then reintroduced some grains after 10 months (brown rice, GF oats and occasionally gluten free pasta) and stopped dairy and as much refined sugar as possible as my finger joints are painful and swollen indicating inflammation.

I had some stool, urine and saliva tests done at the beginning via a nutritionist and realised that there was a lot that needed sorting so I was motivated to make so many changes. I haven’t retested due to the expense but I am free of gut related symptoms so assume some good progress has been made. I now ferment water kefir and drink it daily (very very easy) and eat shedloads of salads and veg with chicken and beef, occasionally some fish. The nutritionist was never keen on my eating legumes or pulses but I do now enjoy Puy lentils every now and then. Having some tonight on leftover roasted veg with a side salad. Regarding the AIP diet, my nutritionist said to go Paleo first and see if that helped. Ideally, I think she’d like me to be Paleo for life but personally I do need the flexibility of being able to eat some grains such as oats now.

I adore chocolate but try only to eat really dark stuff without soy lecithin, as inspired by @Slowdragon.

I had a good diet before being diagnosed with Hashis and have struggled to come to terms with this more restrictive way of eating but I’m not willing to lose another ten years to this condition so am very willing to keep it up. I know when I’ve been glutened- I ache for 24 hours the next day, particularly in my knee joints and feel low and miserable.

PM me if you want the nutritionists details- she does Skype. The only thing I would say though is that you can implement many changes yourself (and therefore save some money).

Have you read Izabella Wentz’s first book, The Root Cause? I found it invaluable but did t like her second one as there’s no way I could have followed all her protocols.

@Heloise is very keen on live apple cider vinegar to improve stomach acid. Have a look at her posts. I did try it but forget to keep it up. I’m sure it’s a great idea though.

Hope this helps.

[Joanne82 in reply to Kipsy]

Thank you so much! I haven’t read root cause but did buy the second and that’s what has prompted me to post the question. I have implemented bits of the protocols but I know I couldn’t do all of it or I’d be miserable and need to weigh that up against feeling better. Glad to hear that there are other options out there. I might look to starting paleo and keeping a food diary to record how I feel before going down the route of a nutritionist. Thank you for your help!

[Kipsy in reply to Joanne82]

Having followed numerous protocols instigated by my nutritionist for the 10 months that I was Paleo, I think doing Izabella Wentz’s ones would be exceedingly difficult. I had someone guiding me and telling me where to buy the (extremely expensive) supplements, how long to take them for and when to do so. I think sourcing Izabella’s wouldn’t be that easy unless you live in the US. Working out when to finish one protocol and start the next was made much easier by having guidance via consultatiins every coup,e of months. I also had lots of tests done initially so that we targeted exactly what was ndpeeded. Having done it all, and spent a huge amount in the process, I’m not sure that I would have embarked on the journey if I’d known how committed I needed to be. Attacking diet seems so much easier by comparison and seems to be what most people on here do.

[SilverAvocado]

Joanne82, if you do decide to tackle the paleo or autoimmune paleo protocol, don't forget its only for a few months in the first instance.

You only go on longer if you want to /are seeing improvement. So it's kind of one step at a time

[Joanne82 in reply to SilverAvocado]

Thank you! I think I was just feeling overwhelmed by a long list of to do things! Need to remind myself that I don’t need to do it all in one go 🙈

[SilverAvocado in reply to Joanne82]

Very much so! Take it slowly, one baby step at a time. If you rush into trying lots of things at once you won't know which one is working, anyway.

[Kari55]

Amy Myers has a great book “Autoimmune solution” about an autoimmune diet and gut healing. My husband feels a massive difference and he had been following it for 3 months. It is daunting at first but once you get the hang of it, it is a great fun. We enjoy cooking and experimenting.

[Joanne82 in reply to Kari55]

Thanks, I’ll have a look at this book, I’m trying to rope the other half into gluten free to keep me company!

[Kari55 in reply to Joanne82]

Good idea, I started following Paleo ( but still eating tomatoes and yoghurt), otherwise I’m gluten free, grain free and sugar free. Even though I have never had particular problems with the gut I hardly ever get bloating now and feeling light is great.

[SeaVee79]

I've been on the auto immune paleo diet for 8 wks now. I have noticed a few of my symptoms like mouth ulcers and afternoon slump are all but gone. Others (like candida, ezcema and low energy) are proving harder to crack. I definately won't be on this diet forever as it makes life pretty hard (no eating out, no glass of wine on a Friday night, nobody else cooking for you) but I have enjoyed being forced to eat more healthily (not that my diet was in any way bad before). I'm looking forward to reintroducing eggs, choc, oats.. in fact I dream about what i will reintroduce first 😂

Chloe

[Joanne82 in reply to SeaVee79]

Ah Chloe you sound like my kind of woman! I always look forward to my Friday night treat! I could give up alcohol for the time but it’s the eating out that makes it miserable 🙈

[SeaVee79 in reply to Joanne82]

Yes I agree wholeheartedly. A treat and meal out every so often really does make the world go round! I'm struggling because the diet is so strict and I can't imagine being so restrictive forever yet I worry that my old treats were somehow doing me harm. Who knows. I guess I'll give it 3 months and see how I feel. I havr sneaked the odd vodka and bit of chocolate tho 😮😂 oops

[Joanne82 in reply to SeaVee79]

I don’t blame you and surely a little bit does no harm 🙊 good luck, you are doing well so far to have even started! I’m still trying to work myself up to it 😀

[Hashi-Monster]

I had leaky gut and chronic gastritis 2 years ago.

I healed the gastritis with slippery elm powder and the leaky gut with gelatin powder

[Joanne82 in reply to Hashi-Monster]

Thanks for the tips, I keep hearing about gelatin powder, I’ll have to look into it more

[SilverAvocado in reply to Hashi-Monster]

Missimal, do you have a good source for gelatin in the UK? I can't find where to buy anything besides supermarket brands.

[Hashi-Monster in reply to SilverAvocado]

I use the Great Lakes brand

gelatingreatlakes.co.uk/

[SilverAvocado in reply to Hashi-Monster]

Thank you