Last week I talked about stepping up my supplement game and how I was attacking my intestinal health to see if my problem is stemming from either Candida or SIBO. Sure, I could go to the doctors and get tested to see if I do intact have either of them, but guess what? Through my own experimentation I’ve 100% proved that I have SIBO.
How?
Well, let me tell you a little story about some chocolate chip cookies…
When I started the supplements I decided to cut out, as best I could, all sugars (with the exception of naturally occurring sugars in fruits and veggies). That meant, no honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, alcohol, etc. I did for 2 reasons.
1. Sugars of any kind can cause inflammation and since I was getting ready for my stem cell procedure, aka getting of my humira, I didn’t want my body to have ANY ammunition against me
2. Gut bacteria feed on sugars and vinegar
I did GREAT for awhile… no chocolate, no diet approved baked goods, nothing with the exception of the occasional sugar that I’m sure I eat unknowingly when I eat at restaurants.
But then, I fell victim to my human tendencies and wanted chocolate cookies BAD. Like, really BAD. So I did what any anti-inflammatory diet loving person would do – I made my favorite paleo chocolate chip cookies. Oh they were delicious. The batch made about 15 cookies annnnnnnd I ate about 7 of them upon making them.
So good. Yum. In that moment I was most definitely happy I made them. Until the next day, when I woke up and couldn’t really move from bed.
My fatigue was HORRIBLE. Bone chillingly bad fatigue, horrible brain fog, headache, nauseous – the works. It took me a few hours to actually get up from bed and make it to the kitchen to eat some breakfast. At that point I knew exactly what the cause was. DAMN YOU CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!
You were gluten free, dairy free and were supposed to be guilt free!!!!!
I’ve experienced this type of fatigue a bajillion times before, therefore I knew the day was going to be a wash. I’d most definitely be spending my time in bed. As I sat in my kitchen, eyeing up the 6ish cookies left from the night before, I did what any reasonable person would have done. I ate the rest of them so that my misery would only be confined to that day and I wouldn’t prolong my fatigue to another day. I mean, duhhhhh, you know it was the best option 😉
What did this ‘chocolate chip cookie experiment’ teach me?
All I could hear, so very loud and clear, from my body, was
HELLO JULIE!
THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH FOR FEEDING THE BACTERIA IN YOUR GUT!
YOU TOTALLY HAVE A BACTERIA OVERGROWTH WHICH YOU WERE STARVING OFF, BUT SINCE YOU FED US EXACTLY WHAT WE’VE WANTED WE’RE HAVING A PARTAYYYYY!
It couldn’t have been more clear. I had been feeling so well, my fatigue had been almost non-existent and my body had been healing. But, since I had a moment of weakness (which, let’s face it, we ALL do!) I fed the bacteria some delicious sugars and it was doing a happy dance. My body, overall, was NOT doing a happy dance. In fact, it was begging me to do anything but move.
Since this cookie incident, I’ve been very cognizant about what I’m eating. But the problem is, once our body tastes sugar, it CRAVES sugar! I had cut it out for 2 months and had been having little problem adhering to the strict diet, but once I gave myself a taste of it all my body wanted was sugar!
One thing I’ve become especially good at is tuning into the cues my body is giving me.
One thing I’ve especially hated that I’ve become good at is tuning into the cues my body is giving me.
It’s so hard because I now have an internal brain battle about how I want that diary free ice cream, but then I remember how much my body hates the sugar and how I won’t feel well afterwards.
Luckily, everyone doesn’t have this problem. Everyone’s body isn’t super sensitive to foods, but I’ve realized that my body is extremely sensitive to food. (Hence why I can’t ‘cheat’ on my diet)
Now that I’ve detoxed my body to the point where I can tune into these sensitivities, my eyes are wide open to the fact that my body was probably giving me signs for my whole life, but I was completely tuned out to them.
Sure, I could go get a test to definitively tell me if I have SIBO or not, but guess what. My body has definitively told me that I most definitely DO have it.
What has your body been telling you? Are you listening??
Wishing You A Pain Free Day!
Want more SIBO resources? Check some of these out!
Everything You Need To Know About SIBO
The Autoimmune Solution: Heal Your Gut