Food Intolerances, Sensitivities, Allergies

[Reality75]

I have had environmental, chemical, and food sensitivities for a long time. I have horrible adrenal exhaustion as well as ptsd which both greatly contribute to my horrible digestion as well as the daily struggle. I know my way around every different diet as I've tried them all in an attempt to thrive. Pretty strict Paleo works well for me, which took me forever to find out. I focus on gut nourishing foods. I take several different supplements but the 3 that have the greatest impact are: Perque brand Potent C Guard, and lots of it(high quality vitamin c great for all sensitivities), betaine hcl(stomach acid, stress greatly reduces your bodies production of this and it is so vital for absorbtion of nutrients), Digest Gold digestive enzymes(assists greatly with breaking down the food for greater absorbtion, also frees up energy that is normally used for digestion. They all help to "prop" me up for most of the day and night.

 

[Deleted member 19804]

I probably have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). When I eat in a fairly normal way and am not too stressed out (good luck with that, Snow. PTSD tends to cause quite a bit of stress), it usually isn't that bad, though.
I do react very strongly to artificial sweeteners. One time, I had drunk some diet coke and a little while later I was in so much pain that I literally passed out. I kid you not.

Oh well, I guess those sweeteners are bad for you anyway. So I mustn't complain :)

 

[AlignUpABQ]

I hate to tell you this but Paleo, especially if you're cutting out fruit, can stress your adrenals. A lot.

 

[Reality75]

Eating a diet full of clean protein, veggies, fruit, and nuts(real food) will stress my adrenals? I respectfully disagree. Eating this way keeps the blood sugar stable and prevents any dips which will and have negatively affected my adrenals in the past. Like I previously stated, this works for me and has been for a number of years.

 

[AlignUpABQ]

No one understands the connection between cortisol/trauma and blood sugar. If it works for you great. You don't have to get adrenal fatigue for it to be causing problems. There's a disturbing trend that people on the paleo and/or vegan side are having big thyroid issues as well. If it's causing the adrenaline to kick in because that's what the body does if the thyroid can't get sugar. The body has low blood sugar. It can raise the stress level in the body. Restlessness. People can get touchy, defensive in their lives in general. Cutting out carbs/sugar caused a huge crisis for me physically, including adrenal fatigue. That's cool if it works for you, but "healthy" has become a big moral word for a lot of people. Every body is different.

 

[Reality75]

Yes, I agree that cutting out carbs/sugar is a huge mistake for quite a lot of people. Personally I have not cut out carbs, I have cut out all grains and dairy as I am reactive to both. I still eat a variety of fruits, raw honey, starchy vegetables(carbs), and juiced greens along with high quality fats and protein. I have managed to reverse my hypothyroid condition eating this way in addition to spending 2 years detoxing my body of halogens. Medication now unnecessary:). I define what "healthy" is for my body and I listen to my body very carefully. I very much understand the connection between blood sugar/adrenals/and thyroid. How trauma fits into this would be new information for me as I am still learning. If you have any helpful resources that be helpful in my understanding that connection, please do share. Thanks!

 

[AlignUpABQ]

We are on the same page Reality75! Will post more soon. Crazy weekend. And thank you for talking this out with me!

 

[shimmerz]

I went through a period where I had to eat liquid food. I found it was because I was so frozen, not just on the outside but on the inside. I would go for days without any trips to the bathroom. So I learned that I had to make shakes and juices with as much nutrition packed into them that I could. It helped me a ton as I was not properly digesting which in turn made it obvious I wasn't getting the goodness into me. I have much more energy. Dairy slows me down so badly that I have had to give it up completely. I don't eat meat either as I find it makes me very heavy and I know it is hard to digest. I believe this is why I used to go up and down in weight - regardless of what I ate throughout my life. Now I understand it and try to keep it to easily digested food.

 

[marylouise]

This is an interesting thread. I came down suddenly with something that was eventually diagnosed as a gluten intolerance, though I would now call it "leaky gut". My endocrinologist who is the only doctor who has understood my condition calls it "weird, autoimmune thing". I think that's accurate.

The thing is that though I was sick for four years with it, I am now cured. My cure was a combination of a severely-restricted diet and acupuncture/herbs. I truly believe a holistic approach cured it. Though I still avoid gluten.

I went through enough as a kid to be in the category of C-PTSD. I suspected my illness had to do with mind-body stuff involving the trauma. I had fibromyalgia (now completely in recession) in my earlier life too. We have to heal our bodies as well as our minds.

 

[nay.elizabeth]

I know this post is old but it caught my eye!

I developed a gluten intolerance as well as severe legume allergies. To the point if I even SMELL beans, I react.

My aunt developed severe Celiac and she has done lots of research over the years. She explained people with this intolerance have it for years but the symptoms are so minimal, we don't pay attention. Then she explained when someone goes through high amounts of stress, our immune system goes into overdrive and our intolerances and allergies go way, way out of whack.

I think I've always had food issues but the stress of my rape REALLY did me in. I miss regular food!!!! It's so much cheaper.

Also, if I accidentally ingest gluten, I have debilitating migraines, body aches, confusion, my depression and wanting to die become very intense. To name just a few.

 

[NellieNellie]

Many doctors don't know this, but widespread food sensitivities and allergies can be indicative of problems with your digestive system such as leaky gut. That is, foods that aren't supposed to pass through your intestinal walls are making their way into your body and causing havoc. Fortunately there are (relatively cheap) supplements that can reign in the sensitivities as they heal your gut. I still have some food sensitivities, but many are now gone. (The ones that are gone were the ones that caused skin reactions....I had lesions on my abdomen for YEARS and I just noticed that they're completely gone! The sensitivities that remain are those that cause joint and muscle pain.) Do a bit of research....you may be able to eat certain foods again. (I have two foods left that I won't be testing out anytime soon even though they caused skin reactions.....they were SO painful, I don't even want to risk it!)