Gut Health: The Ongoing Debacle

If you haven’t read about my recent quest to improve my gut health, check out my first post about the subject and my recent update.

Since I first started this journey several months ago, I’ve learned more about food sensitivities and allergies than I ever wanted to know. And I’ve learned that it really doesn’t pay to get lazy with your nutrition.

Exploring My Gut Health

I originally started looking into my gut health—with doctor’s visits and blood tests—in an effort to feel better. I was tired of being sick and tired with a bloated gut and stomach pains. I had more blood tests in one day than I probably have had the rest of my years combined. And while none of the tests were particularly conclusive (except one), I did change the way I ate. For a while.

Just a few of my grilled chicken and veggies meals I’ve had over the last few weeks.

I cut all processed foods out of my diet, plus some: no wheat, no sugar, no dairy or eggs. I only ate grass-fed and organic meats. I stopped eating many fruits and vegetables that blood tests revealed could be triggers for me. And being a habitual eater, that meant that I had steamed veggies with grilled meat three times a day. Sure, it got a little boring, but it was easy! And even though it wasn’t the goal of this new nutritional plan, I lost seven pounds as a result.

But then I got lazy.

I was feeling really good so I had a piece of pizza. And a sample of frozen yogurt with my kids. Maybe a bite of pancakes.

One day turned into another and I woke up feeling crappy again. So it was back to the grass-fed, organic food with more consistency.

The Final Test Results

Eventually, I got the conclusive results from my blood tests, showing that I was allergic to corn. I mean, CORN. Corn is in everything. Tortilla chips. Tacos. Anything made with corn syrup (and that’s a long list!). Caramel coloring. And check out this Forbes article for some other surprising things that contain corn.

Of course, if I was feeling better on my very strict diet, I should stick with it, right? The doctors say that my body is raging angry with me and that by eating things I’m sensitive (or allergic) to, it’s staying in that angry state. I’ve been told to stay away from everything that my body doesn’t like, until my body calms down, and then slowly reintroduce foods one by one. Slowly.

I’ve gone through an elimination diet before, only to blow it during the reintroduction phase. This time, I know I need to do it right. It’s a big commitment, but I know it’s what I need to do. It’s a process. But I’m back on the wagon and working hard at making sure I do it right this time.

If you’ve been suffering from gut health challenges, I’d love to hear your story. There’s power in numbers and it’s always nice to be part of a supportive community. Let’s help one another!