It's taken me 3 years to make any progress, and I'd say the very long time w slow progress is because its so much trial and error... here's generally what I've learned:
1. stay open to trying things...
2. Don't get sucked into dogma (and Paleo can be super dogmatic, even though the principles of whole foods and clean eating is common sense)
3. Doing things at the right TIME is important, so staying open minded can mean going back and trying something again that didn't work the first time
I have had chronic gut infections for years, and I mean the type of infections where all I can do is go to bed... can't function much at all! Probiotics like soil based organisms (prescript assist) killed the bugs, they they didn't make me any stronger so I could avoid getting these bugs in the first place...
Here are specific things that worked for me plus some things that I learned:
1. I really have a problem w high histamine probiotics, which are almost all of them... Align, Culturelle, jarrow ideal bowel, prescript assist are all okay... a lot of advocates of probiotics will tell you that u need to take a broad spectrum probiotic without asking it you have histamine problems... the ones I mentioned are the best because they'll actually help CLEAR histamine, not throw fuel on the fire...
2. Eating a lot of fermented food and bone broth is often equal to consuming a ton of histamines... I make my own broth and don't cook for longer than 3hours; longer than this is too much for me personally... kimchi has l plantarum probiotic which helps DEGRADE histamine, so it's okay ( l plantarum is the strain that in jarrow ideal bowel)
3. Taking betaine hcl w pepsin has been a game changer ... see "low stomach acid" on dr myhill's site... it explains how low stomach acid has a domino effect on screwing up your gut flora ( in my case, making me more susceptible to infections) , and shutting down pancreatic enzymes...some have luck increasing stomach acid w other things like apple cider vinegar, bitters, etc Some take it for 3-4 months and their body starts producing it again so they can stop...
4. Taking proteolytic enzymes ( wobenzym & bromelain) has been amazing for pain (all over joint and muscle aches, sinus pain, and even brain fog -- my worst symptom!!) Wobenzym includes pancreatic enzymes... see how the puzzle of my screwed up gut is starting to fit together?? (See #3)
5. Zinc & glutamine- have been awesome for leaky gut... glutamine even helps w brain fog
6. Quercetin & rutin are awesome for allergies and histamine problems
7. Magnesium & malic acid are great for aches and pains, plus low level anxiety
8. SIBO herbs are effective when combined w a low carb diet for SIBO... google the Johns Hopkins study in SIBO to see results compared by protocol
A (conventional) doctor actually said to me, I wonder if low stomach is your root problem? As I was walking out the door!!. I didn't think too much of it at the time because how could such a simple thing cause me so much misery.. ha! Her grandfather died of celiac disease because in the old times no one could figure that a simple thing like gluten was the cause... I'm glad she thought to tell me about low stomach acid, but she didn't offer a next step, either..weird... so the moral or the story is "Be a detective - curious and open minded"
btw, I've read that a lot of ppl w AI disease have low stomach acid, so I have no idea if this is by any means the root cause of my illness, but it sure is a big "chip" if we're all chipping away at this CFS thing together
Best of luck
1. stay open to trying things...
2. Don't get sucked into dogma (and Paleo can be super dogmatic, even though the principles of whole foods and clean eating is common sense)
3. Doing things at the right TIME is important, so staying open minded can mean going back and trying something again that didn't work the first time
I have had chronic gut infections for years, and I mean the type of infections where all I can do is go to bed... can't function much at all! Probiotics like soil based organisms (prescript assist) killed the bugs, they they didn't make me any stronger so I could avoid getting these bugs in the first place...
Here are specific things that worked for me plus some things that I learned:
1. I really have a problem w high histamine probiotics, which are almost all of them... Align, Culturelle, jarrow ideal bowel, prescript assist are all okay... a lot of advocates of probiotics will tell you that u need to take a broad spectrum probiotic without asking it you have histamine problems... the ones I mentioned are the best because they'll actually help CLEAR histamine, not throw fuel on the fire...
2. Eating a lot of fermented food and bone broth is often equal to consuming a ton of histamines... I make my own broth and don't cook for longer than 3hours; longer than this is too much for me personally... kimchi has l plantarum probiotic which helps DEGRADE histamine, so it's okay ( l plantarum is the strain that in jarrow ideal bowel)
3. Taking betaine hcl w pepsin has been a game changer ... see "low stomach acid" on dr myhill's site... it explains how low stomach acid has a domino effect on screwing up your gut flora ( in my case, making me more susceptible to infections) , and shutting down pancreatic enzymes...some have luck increasing stomach acid w other things like apple cider vinegar, bitters, etc Some take it for 3-4 months and their body starts producing it again so they can stop...
4. Taking proteolytic enzymes ( wobenzym & bromelain) has been amazing for pain (all over joint and muscle aches, sinus pain, and even brain fog -- my worst symptom!!) Wobenzym includes pancreatic enzymes... see how the puzzle of my screwed up gut is starting to fit together?? (See #3)
5. Zinc & glutamine- have been awesome for leaky gut... glutamine even helps w brain fog
6. Quercetin & rutin are awesome for allergies and histamine problems
7. Magnesium & malic acid are great for aches and pains, plus low level anxiety
8. SIBO herbs are effective when combined w a low carb diet for SIBO... google the Johns Hopkins study in SIBO to see results compared by protocol
A (conventional) doctor actually said to me, I wonder if low stomach is your root problem? As I was walking out the door!!. I didn't think too much of it at the time because how could such a simple thing cause me so much misery.. ha! Her grandfather died of celiac disease because in the old times no one could figure that a simple thing like gluten was the cause... I'm glad she thought to tell me about low stomach acid, but she didn't offer a next step, either..weird... so the moral or the story is "Be a detective - curious and open minded"
btw, I've read that a lot of ppl w AI disease have low stomach acid, so I have no idea if this is by any means the root cause of my illness, but it sure is a big "chip" if we're all chipping away at this CFS thing together
Best of luck