I will tell you my symptoms and what I am planning to do about them. Could you please give me an idea of whether I am thinking along the right lines?
I am 37, and for the past 15 years or more, I have been having progressively worse digestive problems - mainly a feeling of bloating and heaviness after eating that now seems to be triggered by almost any food, even in small amounts, and is with me almost constantly. There is also flatulance and belching quite a lot, and sometimes diarriah, but it is the heaviness & queeziness that is the real problem.
There was a little heaviness even before this - for example, I remember not being able to drink much beer at the age of 18-19 when everyone around me was drinking a lot, because of fullness in the stomach. In 1993, I studied in France for a year, during which I'm afraid I engaged in a frightening amount of over-eating. Following that year, I travelled in Europe for a few months, and looking back, I did so in a state of prolonged and quite serious exhaustion. I am wondering whether these experiences spurred the deterioration in my digestive health.
Since then, the symptoms have been getting steadily worse. I became vegetarian in 1995, gave up gluten around 1998 (gluten still gives me by far the most severe symptoms when I experiment with it) and stopped drinking alcohol in 2001. My diet is mostly home-cooked with little sugar or junkfood. Foods that seem to be consistently a problem are nuts and seeds (even soaked), oil, dried fruit, warm liquid (especially with food) and dairy; but almost any food can trigger a long-lasting feeling of heaviness.
Year on year I notice deterioration. I really have to be careful about accepting any food from anybody now. I am no longer able to go for a run, as the heaviness in the gut doesn't seem to let up long enough to allow me to. I feel a general heaviness in the body, and it does feel related to the digestion. It has been worsening gradually for a long time, which makes it less easy to appreciate how bad it is. Only recently have I noticed how serious this condition is, as we have had our first baby and the demands on me are much higher and I feel very sadly unable to meet them as I would like to.
Is this leaky gut, or something else? I have done some research on the internet and it does seem to fit, though I realise that these things are hard to self-diagnose unless you really know your stuff. Equally hard to devise your own recovery programme, but I have tried to do so based on what I have found out. This is what I am about to start doing. Does it sound like it is along the right lines? Any comments are very welcome:
1 - Glutamine powder (to heal the gut wall) - 15g per day (3x5g) for a month, and then 10g per day (2x5g) for a couple of weeks, and the 5g per day for a couple of weeks. Do these amounts seem reasonable? How long should I go on taking it for?
2 - Digestive Enzymes (to alleviate pressure on the gut from food) - Having read a book called "Enzymes for Health and Healing", I have chosen "Enzymend" from Rainbow Light, as it seems to contain the right active amounts of all the various enzymes, as well as some gastric soothing herbs. Along with the probiotics and the systemic enzymes, this forms the basic programme of supplementation that the book recommends.
3 - 2 weeks taking Black Walnut, Wormwood and Clove tinctures (and perhaps Goldenseal), to rid the gut of any parasites that might be lurking there.
4 - Systemic Enzymes (to supplement the enzymes the rest of the body needs that are probably currently being diverted to support digestion rather than for circulation, joints, etc) - I have had difficulty choosing a systemic enzyme. In the end, I have ordered Doctor's Best Proteolytic Enzymes as the reviews from other customers seem to suggest that they work.
5 - Probiotics (to address the balance of bacteria in the gut) - I have chosen Culturelle as it seems to be potent (10CFU per capsule) and to have been studied and shown to survive into the bowels. I am planning to take 2 capsules per day for 10 days, then 1 per day for a month, then 2 per week on an ongoing basis. Does that seem reasonable?
6 - Prebiotics (to provide food for the new bacteria) - I am not so up on all the different ones available, but a dietician friend of mine recommended Bimuno.
7 - A multivitamin (to make up for whatever my body has not been getting, and to provide any nutrients that may assist the other supplements). I have ordered Source of Life.
I have done a fair amount of research on each of these, and each of the steps alone seem to have transformed people's lives. I don't seem to respond well to such miracle solutions, but this is the most extensive and well-researched programme I have ever tried.
Well I don't care much for the vegatarian diet and surely by now you are quite depleated of amino acids but granted your gut may not be ready for anything else. Look for a good amino supplement in liquid form and see if you can incorporate some wild caught salmon and tuna to your diet. You need those oils and protiens.
Get some quality coconut oil and take a tablespoon once or twice a day. Do a search on Tropical Traditions brand. They are excellent.
I also would strongly sugges Betain HCL,, hydrochloric acid as it sound like you may be truly deficient, hence all the bloating and stomach problems.
Take enough with meals so that your stomach feels warm, you can mildly feel the heat of it, but start with one pill and work up. Some people need 6 or more. Onlly take them with meals. If you are having a small meal or snack take a reduced dosage. Try to find a betain HCL with pepsin or get pepsin separately, again, only with meals.
I woiuld also suggest that you go to Hulda Clark's website and follow her protocol for taking the wormwood herbs, etc. She is the parasite queen!
__________________ "The nurse should be cheerful, orderly, punctual, patient, full of faith, - receptive to Truth and Love" Mary Baker Eddy
Visit www.HealthSalon.org
guyshahar, while you are researching your digestive problems, check on digestive bitters. They have been used for very many years for these situations. The reason that you are bloated is due to your food just fermenting. Try to find some bitters like grape bitters. They don't contain stimulating herbs for the bowels. The bitters will stimulate; but laxative herbs may cause a dependency. It is only necessary to take half of what the bottle say. You just have to let the bitter receptors on the tongue taste them for a few seconds. The body does the rest. I usually take bitters just before a meal.
Quote:
Bitters act to increase or stabilize the appetite. In general, there is a stimulation of the appetite which is important in conditions of convalescence and where there is otherwise a reduction of appetite. Bitters do not seem to increase appetite in a digestively healthy person, rather a more healthful balance in the appetite develops. The body acquires more taste for healthy foods and less taste for unhealthy foods.
When bitters activate the gastric secretion of hydrochloric acid and other digestive enzymes, the nerve tone of the muscles of the entire digestive tract improves. Blood circulation improves and the body can assimilate foods, absorb nutrients, and eliminate wastes more efficiently. In a broader way, this improvement in blood circulation affects the healthy activity of the heart and circulation in general.
Cleansing and Detoxification
Bitters stimulate the liver to do a more effective cleansing and detoxifying job and prompt the gallbladder to make bile. The production of bile helps metabolize fats and keeps elimination moving smoothly. Bitters also produce a diuretic and hepatic effect in the body. This has value when working with any condition that has origins in a sluggish or overworked liver.
Stabilizing Blood Sugar
Bitters produce a regulatory effect on the secretion of the pancreas of the hormones that regulate blood sugar, insulin, and glucagon. This can be of benefit in stabilizing insulin levels and modulating blood sugar swings. Diabetics should be careful when taking bitters because bitters may upset their blood sugar balance.
Reducing Stress
Bitters can also be supportive in reducing stress and anxiety and regenerating the nervous system. When bitters work to strengthen digestion this activates the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system and induces a more relaxed state in the body. Bitters can be useful with those who are overextended and stressed out. Bitters produce subtle, beneficial psychological effects. In some cases they can produce a marked antidepressant effect and a "generally tonic effect upon consciousness."
Increasing Immune Responses
Some bitter herbs such as Gentian can modulate the gut associated immune responses. In some therapeutic circles bitters are indicated for treatment of those recovering from infectious diseases including viral conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome. Some clinical tests have shown that bitters can decrease levels of sIgA antibodies and reduce or eliminate symptoms in those with inflammatory bowel disease. Bitters may help repair gut wall damage through stimulating self-repair mechanisms.
Who Should Use Bitters?
Bitters are indicated when there is digestive weakness. Digestive weakness is often associated with an infectious disease that depletes the vital energy of the body. Digestive weakness and decreased vitality both reduce the assimilation of nutrients and the elimination of wastes resulting in a spiraling effect of depletion in the body. Stress can deplete vital energy which disrupts digestion and this further decreases the body�s vital energy.
Bitters can also be useful for those who have an over reliance on mental energy that can result in physical exhaustion.
Bitters are indicated for use in:
* poor fat digestion
* poor protein digestion
* weakness due to chronic illness especially with a bacterial or viral infection
* loss of energy and vitality
* painful digestion
* intestinal cramps
* excessive gas
* irritable bowel syndrome
* poor appetite
* anemia
* excessive craving for sweets, fats, and carbohydrates
* immune disorders where nutritional deficiency is present
* digestive weakness due to mental overwork and lack of exercise. https://evenstaronline.com/articles/bitters.html
It should not be necessary to take enzymes for long. They can also cause your body to depend upon them.
It is very good that you are taking probacteria. That will help more than your digestion. Also consider prebiotics to feed the friendly flora. That will be soft fibers; such as rice bran and oat bran. Soft fibers contain silica. The flora will last longer with that.
It should not be necessary to take enzymes for long. They can also cause your body to depend upon them.
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Yes, this is the intent of taking all that jfh and I have mentioned. As you do these things you will re-energize your own system which you cannot do if you are depleated.
Taking HCL and enzymes can actually reboot the system, turn it back on. I would anticipate 4 to 6 months of treatment though.
And I was also thinking about this last night further... since you are a vegetarian you definately are lacking sufficient B12.
Now you have to consider this. B12 primarily comes from animal protien. The parietal cells of the stomach help in the process of absorbing B12 via the intrinsic factor that they produces. The parietal cells also produce HCL. So if you are deficient in HCL you will likely also be deficient in B12, although this is not true across the board. Pareital cells do seem to be able to produce intrisic factor and be low on HCL at the same time. But 98 percent of vegetarians are deficient in B12. This is a crucial vitamin. I suggest that you find a doctor to help you with this. You need vitamin B12 shots. 1000mg a day for a week, the 1000mg per week for a month then 1000mg every two weeks for a month, then 1000mg a month indefinately, as long as you maintain a veggie diet. Wehn your digestive disorder is straightened out you should be able to take B12 orally. This is accordign to Dr Jonathan Wright of the Tacoma Clinic.
Due to depleation of b12 for vegetarians, it is evidence enough for me that people should be eating some meat.
__________________ "The nurse should be cheerful, orderly, punctual, patient, full of faith, - receptive to Truth and Love" Mary Baker Eddy
Visit www.HealthSalon.org
The probiotics is a great idea (get dr ohiras if you can afford it). Also, I agree with arrowwind, take high dose B12 or get a shot. A couple things you might want to explore:
1) Take a good fish oil (highest dose on the bottle) or get some flax oil if you are opposed to fish.
2) Try and go organic for as much as the food you can.
3) Skip the multivitamin (too many things in one pill that counteract each other) and take a b-complex once a week and a vitamin C (500 mg) every day.
4) Start going on long fast walks and build up to 45 minutes, do this 5 times a week.
5) Try a one day water fast in the near future (nothing but water for a whole day, if you are a coffee drinker, have 1/2 cup of black coffee in the mid morning and that is it)
Give this a few months, natural healing works, it just does not work over night.
Is this a decent supplement programme?
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