Eating like your ancestors (resolving stomach issues)

[mommymilkies]

Bear with me here, this may or may not be as crazy as it sounds.

 

I'm finding I'm rather suddenly completely intolerant of a good many foods.  My ancestry is pretty exclusively Northern European and I'm finding the other foods that don't give me rather unpleasant symptoms are the blandest foods possible that my ancestors likely ate as little as a hundred years ago.  I can't eat anything tropical at this point. Even chocolate seems to be upsetting my stomach. I get hives if I eat spicy food, I get shower-induced hives almost every day.  Coconut gives me ulcers now. Kiwi and a lot of tropical fruit I have OAS with. I'm ready to live off of oatmeal, cabbage, and fish if it means I don't live in pain. But I think my willpower is not that strong. ;)

 

Has anyone changed pretty bad stomach issues (IBS, gallbladder, etc.) with diet? How? Even paleo-I can't eat half the dern things because they are largely tropical foods that cause me pain. I'm getting rather desperate. 

 

I'll think about whatever you'll throw at me-miracle buckwheat, juicing, fairy dust...

[Χά�ων]

No answers but I have wondered about this in the past. Does it really make sense for me to eat a food from all over the world that my ancestors never would have known existed let along ate? 

 

But I like chocolate and my favorite foods are from a region my ancestors are not native to and I am not sure I can live without falafel.

[mathnerd]

Take a good quality probiotic or drink kefir every day. My family is full of people with IBS and the ones who took probiotics regularly have seen the symptoms lessening and disappearing over time.

[fraidycat]

What have you tried so far?

 

I've read good things about the GAPS diet. I'm not familiar with it, though.

 

Have you done any cleanse/detox things? Green smoothies, juicing, etc.

[Liz CA]

Dr. Campbell (cannot recall her first name) has a lot of info on GAPS. The book "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon & Mary Enig describe in detail how to soak grains for easy digestion. Don't lose hope. There is a lot you can do. You may have to start with strict GAPS and work certain foods back into your diet. You will see what works and what doesn't.

 

http://www.gutandpsychologysyndrome.com/gaps-diet/

[indigomama]

I don't have much advice, just wanted to say, I'm sorry. I wish food and nutrition and health were easier.

 

 

 

[Susan C.]

I have. Where to start, its been a long process, I've done a little at a time, and change as I go. I have European ancestry, only second generation on my dad's side. They lived off of the land, they were farmers. I was raised when all the the processed foods were the cool thing to eat. So I had tummy troubles my entire life. My grandparents didn't eat that type of food. I somehow found out my grandma was lactose intolerant, bingo, me too. I slowly took away each processed food from my diet. First, soybean oil. So no margarine, shortening, you get the picture. I always told myself I would stop buying a certain item, but if it was too hard, I would just get it again. I also had hives, for years, with periods of them being very bad. By experimenting, some things I know I can't have: Yellow #5 (its in EVERYTHING), soybean oil, non-organic dairy (can have limited organic dairy), cream of anything soup, too much wheat (ok if I limit, but no wheat cereal for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, pasta for dinner), you get the picture. Another suspect just found is lanolin based D3 supplements, I'm allergic to wool. I also took a lot of supplements. While they helped, I have stopped. I took a lot, and that is a lot of fillers. I'm trying to get what I need for food and am researching a few high quality ones I can take again if I need them.

 

First I had to eat an easy to digest diet, to calm the lactose intolerance and IBS. Rice and potatoes are easier to digest than grains. Chicken is easier than beef. No fried foods. For me, a diet of meats, salads, and vegetables was the way to go. Meat and salad, repeat. (Make the dressing).  I also ditched boxed cereals and make soaked oats (muesli) for breakfast. I read Nourishing Traditions, and have a lot of that type of cooking on my facebook feed for recipe ideas.

 

I've just starting juicing and am still figuring it out. It does aggravate things a little. You know, half a bag of kale, lol. But I feel better, so I'll figure out what I'll do by trial and error. Just change one thing at a time so you know what bothers you.

 

Years ago, I had what my doctor thought were gallbladdar issues. I told him I didn't want to take drugs or have surgery. He said I would have to figure out what I can't eat, then don't eat it. One lethal combination was..... frozen fried fish and Krispy Kreme donuts. Thought I was going to die.... Too much pasta aggravates things as well. If I get really stressed, my diet is meats (not fried) and salads, or bland soups. Then I'm fine.

 

So start bland, add a thing at a time. Keep a journal. Don't worry if you eat the same thing for awhile (for me that is chicken breast, rice (or potato), green beans) until things calm down. Find what your default foods are.  Good luck, and its worth it to find a diet that works for you.

[MIch elle]

Have you read Grain Brain? He recommends being tested for food allergies.  Have you been tested?

[Ann.without.an.e]

DS is doing very well on a paleo diet for crohn's disease.  At first, he was limited a bit (no raw fruits/veggies or red meat, etc)  but he has healed with the diet and now he can eat many foods that cause other people with IBD pain (such as beef, raw fruits/veggies, etc)

[mommymilkies]

Take a good quality probiotic or drink kefir every day. My family is full of people with IBS and the ones who took probiotics regularly have seen the symptoms lessening and disappearing over time.

Do you recommend a certain kind? I've been taking some on and off for about eight years (my issues are more recent-on and off for 3-4 years and really bad since July)

  

What have you tried so far?

I've read good things about the GAPS diet. I'm not familiar with it, though.

Have you done any cleanse/detox things? Green smoothies, juicing, etc.

Everything! I was eating Paleo/Primal from Oct 2011 to Late June 2013. I was all certain my stomach issues were something else, but I know I need to cut sugar and wheat back out. :( I tried GAPS and about jumped off the roof. Lol

 

I do need allergy testing. I know 100% I'm allergic to kiwi! I'm unsure if the others are allergies or bad intolerances.

 

Speaking of Krispy Kreme, I ate 4 today. I'm sure that didn't help. Lol

 

I'm reading, I'll reply more later when I'm not on mobile.

[J-rap]

My son had lots of stomach aches and cramps growing up, but he has been on the Paleo diet now for a couple years and the pains have virtually been eliminated.  However, I don't think the pure paleo diet includes many tropical foods, except coconut oil.  My son's diet pretty much just consists of grass-fed beef chicken, and organic eggs and green veggies.  Sometimes he throws in legumes but even those aren't allowed (from what I know) on the pure Paleo.  I don't know how he does it, but I guess if you feel so much better, you stick with it.

 

My daughter on the other hand tried the Paleo diet above, and it didn't sit well with her.  Now she is on a gluten-free dairy-free Mediterranean diet and feels much better.  So, who knows!

 

I have heard about eating like your ancestors for best results, and it makes a lot of sense to me.

 

Good luck finding what works for you!

[ThelmaLou]

I had a sudden onset of a type of reflux called LPR about this time last year. Subsequent testing revealed leaky gut (based on blood allergy IGG tests, broad allergies to many foods), candida overgrowth, and parasites. I have also had gallbladder pain off and on for years.

 

I have eliminated all grains, dairy, fruit, sugar, and starchy vegetables for the time being. I'm being treated for the parasites and the candida with strong herbal concoctions. I can eat meats, non-starchy veggies, wild rice (only grain exception), goat butter and goat cheese (they have enzymes to digest their own sugars), nuts, nut butters, homemade nut milks, lemons and limes (the only exception to fruits), avocados, tomatoes (but I'm allergic) eggs, and liquid stevia. My "dessert" has been a shortbread that I make with only almond flour (Honeyville Farms), goat butter, cinnamon, almond extract (a slight cheat, because it has alcohol in it) and stevia. It's not half bad, especially with coffee. I doctor my coffee with homemade almond milk and stevia. I also make lemonade with fresh squeezed lemons, water, and stevia. I found a Tuscan seasoning from Costco that I can tolerate (doesn't have added sugar or anything off limits for this diet.) I'm supposed to be allowed to eat Olive oil, but I tested highly allergic. I also tested highly allergic to coconut, tomatoes, cashews, cilantro, and oats. Everything else was pretty mild, allergy-wise, but the spectrum was very broad.

 

I have never had digestive pain. No symptoms of IBS, crohn's, or anything of the sort. All my symptoms are up in my throat, but they've gotten better over the course of the year.

 

The idea behind the GAPS diet as it relates to allergies is that you can seal and heal the lining of the gut over time (key phrase), so large particles of food aren't leaking into your bloodstream and causing an immune response.

 

I'm using the specific diet that my Dr. gave me for the current treatment I'm on, but I know that it's similar to GAPS at least in regards to being grain, dairy, and sugar free. I'm not doing any lactofermented foods.

 

I'm taking probiotics, aloe juice, a supplement called RepairVite, which has L-Glutamine and several other things known to soothe and seal the lining of the intestines, vitamin B, vitamin D, and some herbal stuff. My issues seem to be much better eating this way. I don't know if I'll ever go back to eating certain foods. I guess I'll find out how well this has all worked when I get repeat blood and stool analysis done.

 

Don't despair. It is possible to improve with regards to food allergies. Just make sure to give it plenty of time and remind yourself that this is a process. Slow but steady wins the race!

[Slartibartfast]

I can't afford that much seafood and where am I going to get all that venison? Dh is going to have to learn to hunt.

[celticmom]

Your post makes me think of the book Eat Right 4 Your Type. It is about different diets being better for different blood types but it also has a section about certain blood types being more common in certain ancestral groups.

[Callie]

I've experienced the same thing with anything 'tropical'.  It began with bananas several years ago, then fresh pineapple (I could still eat canned at the time) after several years I could no longer eat the canned pineapple.  No kiwi, mango or papaya (we were living in S. Florida at the time).  Most recently it is avocado.

 

I get debilitating stomach pains if I eat any of the above and will have lay down and NOT move for several hours.  I absolutely will not touch any of those items.

 

 

[DawnM]

Well, I guess this all depends on what you believe our ancestors ate.  While many argue meat and scavenger hunting, others argue plant based only and go completely Vegan.

 

 

[momacacia]

There is a really supportive and active GAPS yahoo group. Search for either "GAPSHelp" or "Digestive Healing & GAPS" on the yahoo groups site. There are quite a few adults on there who have used gaps successfully. One is named "Gerald" and he recovered from being very very sick and is a wealth of knowledge and encouragement. He says he feels better and more energy than he's had in 20 years.

 

I know gaps is so, so hard. It's worked beautifully for my dd when we did it for a year and a half. I don't blame anyone for not doing it, but I will say I found it very tummy calming, I digested fat better and my skin looked amazing and joints no longer hurt. But it is hard. Nothing but a child's or spouse's serious health issues would have motivated me to do it all.

 

Maybe the GAPS group could give you the support you need IF you wanted to try it again.