Healthy food makes me worse...?

[ljimbo423]

I started with probiotics but with limited success.

I have also had limited success with probiotics. As I understand it, the best way to increase the number of good bacteria that already live in the gut is with prebiotics.

However, then there is the question do they feed the bad bacteria as well and should one treat an overgrowth or dysbiosis first, then add in the prebiotics. I did the later, for fear of worsening my dysbiosis with prebiotics.

I am experiencing die-off from the prebiotics just as I did the probiotics. Although I feel better than before taking them, after the die-off passes. So hopefully it's a net gain! It sure feels like it.

Jim

 

[pamojja]

I agree that diet is a very powerful tool in gut health. How much or in what ways does dysbiosis alter what is good for the gut though? I don't think anybody really knows the answer to this. Any thoughts?

Well, in the case of dysbiosis through an intestinal infection, it could go either way. As these two self-quantifying guys found: http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/08/06/the-quantified-microbiome-self/

It appears that David’s microbiome switched from one state to another on his trip, and then back again. Alm’s microbes had a different experience. His food poisoning disrupted his microbiome, allowing a different combination of species to become dominant. It pushed him into a different state–a healthy one–and he’s now stuck there.

And yes, really no one could know that beforehand.

 

[ljimbo423]

@pamojja - What a great article! Fascinating how dynamic the microbiome is and that David's food poisoning actually pushed him into a healthier microbiome! Thanks for the post.

Jim

 

[hopeful2]

I don't know if you will relate to this or not but I had something similar happen to me. Back on Christmas day of 1982, I came down with a really bad stomach bug after which I was never the same. Prior to coming down with the stomach bug, I was a junk food junkie and was addicted to anything with sugar in it. After the stomach bug, I had symptoms that in hindsight were like a milder case of ME/CFS then what I have now. I went to the doctor with no relief and in desperation decided to give up all junk food and anything containing sugar. I started eating nothing but healthy food and to my surprise ended up feeling much worse. I went back to the doctor and told him what I had done and how much worse I was feeling and he decided to run a glucose tolerance test on me.

I went and took a 4 hour glucose tolerance test and at about 1-1/2 hours into the test I started feeling so sick that I wanted to leave. I felt like I was coming down with a bad flu bug. The lab technician convinced me to stay and finish the test. But, the fact that I had felt so sick in the middle of the test piqued the lab tech's curiosity so he immediately started running my blood through to get the results. He then told me that he wasn't supposed to tell me the results but he felt sorry for me and decided to tell me that I had the worse case of reactive hypoglycemia that he had ever seen which my doctor later confirmed.

I was then sent to a dietician for a diet plan. I explained to the dietician how I had felt so much worse when I switched from a junk food diet to a healthy diet and asked her if she could explain why that would happen. She said it was because the junk food was loaded with fat and although it had more carbs and sugar than the healthy diet, the high fat content was buffering the effects of the low blood sugar and providing my body with an alternative source of fuel. She said when I switched to the healthy food diet, I was eating very little fat and more carbs than my body could tolerate. So, when my blood sugar dropped there was no fat in my system to buffer the effects of the low blood sugar.

I don't know what kind of junk food you were eating but if it was high in fat and then you switched to a low fat healthy food diet is it possible that you are experiencing low blood sugar attacks?

 

[Martin aka paused||M.E.]

I don't know what kind of junk food you were eating but if it was high in fat and then you switched to a low fat healthy food diet is it possible that you are experiencing low blood sugar attacks?

As I already said: Before falling ill with ME I have eaten veggies and fruits every day without any problems. I was very sporty and rarely ate junk food. So there was no switch to a healthy diet at all... My diet did not change but my reaction did!

 

[Fogbuster]

Hi PR-folks...

I don't know if it sounds ridiculous, but... I have a feeling that veggies and fruits make me worse. I feel better when eating junk food. Does that make any sense (I think it does not)??? Anyone with similar experiences?

A simple answer to all that you've said is, YES!!!! I've no idea why I didn't get round to posting this question to others before, but I'm glad you did. Anyway, it's good to find a kindred spirit!

 

[E.man]

My body does reach for high sugar drinks and snacks because it's looking for easy energy, I do put on weight from it though.
'Eating your 'greens' ' is not particularly useful to many of us. We've just changed too much that 'healthy' food is not the same to us as many other people now.

 

[wonderoushope]

My body does reach for high sugar drinks and snacks because it's looking for easy energy, I do put on weight from it though.
'Eating your 'greens' ' is not particularly useful to many of us. We've just changed too much that 'healthy' food is not the same to us as many other people now.

I find high sugar foods are a quick fix but not the answer. It just makes me crash even more. My dietician told me to have more low GI foods througout the day and I think it certainly helps me.

 

[E.man]

I find high sugar foods are a quick fix but not the answer. It just makes me crash even more. My dietician told me to have more low GI foods througout the day and I think it certainly helps me.

That's true, but I know when my body is hardly dragging itself around it wants a pickup . I tried to shop better toward the lower GI last time out.

 

[Runner5]

Yeah, I had the same issue!

 

[Wolfcub]

Food is weird. I love food of all kinds. But since last Spring if I eat bananas I feel myself more "down" energy-wise (which makes little sense as bananas were always great energy food for me!)
I don't feel that if I eat grapes, or peaches, or pears.

Yesterday I did a home cooked really tasty cauliflower soup with spinach and grain/seed toast with butter. That was so nice and my energy and digestion felt normal.
Today I did the cauliflower soup again only this time added green runner beans. I have had indigestion all evening! Now why? I have always love runner beans and they never upset my belly!

I just keep eating what I like. One day is so different to another re: food reactions anyway. But it feels like my body and system has changed in ways I don't recognise anymore.

 

[Dmitri]

It's the same way for me, fruits and veggies irritate my stomach and I find them hard to digest. Some dried fruits like dates are a bit better. My staple foods for 10+ years have been bread and cheese, not quite "junk", but both are often advised to be avoided. Also, eating sweets after a meal makes me feel slightly better.

This matches the effects I get from eating sweet food:

http://www.ibtimes.com.au/eat-more-sweets-after-full-meal-researchers-say-1291624

Norwegian researchers have found that eating sugary desserts could help facilitate digestion and loosen stomach muscles to make the food you've eaten settle easier.

 

[Kenshin]

It's the same way for me, fruits and veggies irritate my stomach and I find them hard to digest. Some dried fruits like dates are a bit better. My staple foods for 10+ years have been bread and cheese, not quite "junk", but both are often advised to be avoided. Also, eating sweets after a meal makes me feel slightly better.

This matches the effects I get from eating sweet food:

http://www.ibtimes.com.au/eat-more-sweets-after-full-meal-researchers-say-1291624

I eat wheat and dairy with some guilt in the back of my mind, because everywhere I read anything on health and diet it says grain and dairy are the spawn of satan and cause inflammation, ibs, and fatiiigue.

But how evil can a pizza be? (Which also contains the dreaded nightshade tomatoe)
I largely rely on dairy for calories and protein, cheese is actually a superfood if you look up it's nutrients. Butter too.
I didn't notice much from giving up gluten or dairy, (haven't been dairy free for longer than a few days though, I was gluten free for a long time.)

 

[Wolfcub]

It's the same way for me, fruits and veggies irritate my stomach and I find them hard to digest. Some dried fruits like dates are a bit better. My staple foods for 10+ years have been bread and cheese, not quite "junk", but both are often advised to be avoided. Also, eating sweets after a meal makes me feel slightly better.

This matches the effects I get from eating sweet food:

http://www.ibtimes.com.au/eat-more-sweets-after-full-meal-researchers-say-1291624

Bread and cheese never seems to do me any harm either. I don't live on it but I like it and it suits me. I also like salmon paste sandwiches! I usually have them with avocado cucumber and lettuce.
I honestly haven't been able to find a link between crashes/down times and what I have eaten, so far. Except for coffee, and alcohol which can sometimes have a bad effect on me but not always by any means!
Oh and yes...I love a bit of chocolate after dinner in the evenings! That also doesn't seem to have any negative effects on me.