One month in

Sooooo... This has been a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. Of course, it didn't hurt that I was doing what one might call "loose AIP"; everything was technically AIP but it was higher in carbs, especially sugar, than I really should do. Part of this was because I had just done an incredibly restrictive diet - GAPS - and needed a mental break from all that "diet head", part of it was because half the month would be vacation and I was not going to diet during my vacation! So, there was lots of AIP treats and other questionable food choices (I think I cleaned my local grocery store of plantain chips last  month.)

And I got better! Not perfect; my left ankle is still a little wonky. The only time that went away and my feet felt NORMAL is the first two weeks of GAPS, when I was eating basically just meat and veg in bone broth. I'm hoping once I do button-down serious AIP that will change but we'll see about that. But it's much better than it was when I'd introduced eggs and nuts so there appears to be an autoimmune component to whatever is going on with me. I also did a 2 week herbal antibiotic protocol, which I will write about in another post. That was interesting, to say the least!

It's a challenge to stay mentally healthy while restricting your diet. I had very few problems last month, though. I'm not sure if it's because I had just gotten off Intro GAPS and by comparison loosey goosey AIP was positively bountiful in it's choices, or because AIP, while it's restrictive, doesn't restrict any macronutrients; while I couldn't have every carb or fat, I could have any amount of legal carbs and fats whenever I wanted. Possibly it was a combination of the two.

My plan is to spend two more months, doing slightly more restrictive AIP, to add up to a total of 3 months before attempting reintroductions. I went off the deep end with the carbs last month but I know that that isn't good for me. At the same time I don't want to negatively affect my gut bacteria so I will keep my carb intake around 100 grams a day, or one piece of fruit and one modest serving of AIP safe starch (sweet potato, plantain, yucca, stuff like that) per day.

Wish me luck!

AIP: A new beginning

Welp, I'm fully on AIP now. Unfortunately I was too busy with things to write it all up but I spent the weekend at home purposefully transitioning from GAPS to AIP... and by "transitioning" I mean stuffing my face with all the AIP friendly starch I could get my hands on! My body felt soooooo hungry for starch! I must have eaten 5 plantains by myself, lol (largely in the form of plantain chips, which isn't great but it is what it is.)

I have been making sure to start my days with plenty of probiotics. I start off with one Prescript Assist soil based organism capsule, one capsule of saccharomyces boulardii, and two of your run of the mill probiotics (I have so many in my freezer from my various stints of trying to get my gut balanced). Drink them all down with a glass of water with a tablespoon of Inner Eco coconut water probiotic and a smidge of Jarrow inulin FOS (I'm starting with a tiny amount and working my way up - I've experienced starting too much too soon and it is NOT FUN.) I've also started making breakfast smoothies again but with more limited ingredients than usual. I used to make them with whey powder but that's out on AIP. I did include egg yolks but I'm going to need to end that... as soon as I use up my eggs! The two recipes I alternate between are as follows:

Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Banana
Frozen strawberries
Coconut butter
Gelatin (in the green container)
Egg yolk

Chocolate Smoothie
Banana
Frozen blueberries (not too much!)
Frozen spinach (not too much!)
Carob powder
Coconut butter
Gelatin
Egg yolk

I think I'm going to stop drinking these for breakfast and have them for dessert instead - they are too delicious! Plus, that's way too much sugar to have as a "meal".

On the plus side, my feet and knees are already feeling better! As is my mood! Fingers crossed that it lasts. On the negative side, my guts are SO FREAKING LOUD. They've been grumbly and gassy all goddam day! Hopefully they'll settle down as the bacteria reach a new equilibrium. I may leave out the inulin/FOS for a week or so.

So that's it for my GAPS experience! Thank you GAPS, you taught me a lot about myself!


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Breakfast: strawberry banana smoothie

Lunch (I was STARVING!): Korean short ribs, sweet potato, green salad, apple

Dinner: The last of my AIP nachos; AIP Mexican ground beef, fancy AIP guacamole (normally I make a very simple guac with just salt, lime juice, and garlic powder but since I'm doing AIP I decided to fancy it up), lettuce, and plantain chips

AIP Mexican Ground Beef
Sautee ground beef and onions
Add (fresh!) oregano and salt to taste

AIP Fancy Guacamole
Avocado
Lemon (or lime) juice
Cucumber, diced small
Fresh cilantro
Fresh pressed garlic
Green onion
Salt

The Korean ribs recipe was based on this recipe by The Paleo Mom. As usual I just eyeballed it - mixed up a mess of coconut aminos, apple cider vinegar, honey, lemon juice, garlic, ginger and some salt -  and tossed the ribs in the mixture. Cooked in a low oven (300 degrees) for about 4 hours. They were delicious but totally dried out; next time I will cover with foil until the last half hour and see how that works. Maybe put them under the broiler to get some nice crispy bits going. <3

GAPS Day 26: To FODMAP or not to FODMAP

That is the question!!

So, I started this whole quest to get my digestion in order, primarily to resolve my issues with GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, or heartburn) and my digestion in general. Looking at my history it's pretty clear that I've had problems with digestion going back decades, possibly even to childhood. Resolving my issues with GERD is the most immediate concern but I really need to get all of these issues under control, and to do that I need to heal my digestion.

In Chris Kresser's ebook on GERD (you have to sign up for his email list to get access to this) he recommends going on the SCD or GAPS diets to starve out the bad bacteria. He says he often uses the low FODMAP diet, especially for those with SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth, which I'm fairly sure I have) and in a July 13, 2012 article he wrote an article ("FODMAPs: Could common foods be harming your digestive health?") in which he says the same thing. Dr. Sarah Ballantyne also suggests limiting FODMAPS for people who suffer from SIBO ("Veggiephobia: Why limiting your vegetable intake might be slowing down healing"). But then on October 8, 2015 Kelsey Marksteiner wrote another article on ChrisKresser.com in which she says that one should not restrict carbohydrates or FODMAPs for SIBO or gut dysbiosis in general.

But starving the bacteria over the short term does not eradicate the bacteria, which is what we’re trying to accomplish, as the small intestine is not supposed to contain much bacteria. If you continue this restriction for a long period of time in an effort to kill the bacteria, you’re also starving the bacteria in your large intestine that should be there and that play a vital role in your health.

("Why Diet Alone Is Not Enough to Treat SIBO")


In this article, she references a discussion Kresser had on his September 10, 2015 podcast with Dr. Mark Pimentel ("SIBO Update — An Interview with Dr. Mark Pimentel"). Here's what Dr. Pimentel says:

If you give guar gum or you augment their [the bacteria's] eating — so now you’re feeding them, they’re thrilled, they’re enjoying all that food — they’ll be more sensitive to rifaximin.  So when I treat with rifaximin, or antibiotics, in general, for these IBS patients, I don’t want them to be on a low-FODMAP diet simultaneously or any kind of carbohydrate restrictions.  I want those bacteria happy and fed because they’ll respond better, in my experience, and the guar gum study kind of supports that notion.

So I'm really at a loss for what to do. The ideal thing would be to find a good functional medicine doctor and have some testing done but a) that's expensive, and insurance doesn't cover it and b) I dread looking for someone who knows what the hell they're talking about. Since that's out right now I need to figure things out for myself. I do want to go to a doctor, and I will, but not right now. I have too many things I need to save money for (not the least is my wedding and honeymoon!)

The other thing is, although I still believe that digestion is the foundation of health (you can't absorb any nutrients if your digestion isn't working), this experience with GAPS has driven home the fact that I still have autoimmune issues and I need to get those under control. At least after doing GAPS the autoimmune protocol diet doesn't seem so bad!


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I actually ate breakfast today (the last of the GAPS pancakes with a slice of GAPS bread with honey). Guess if there's bread involved I'm hungry enough to eat at 9:30 lol.

Lunch was shredded beef with some salad and chicken broth on the side with some pineapple (from a can, but packed in it's own juice... which spilled in my insulated lunch bag! Damn you non-water tight food containers!!!)

Snack was the last two donuts from Liberty Specialty Foods. I had to! I need to get through all my GAPS food before moving onto AIP, lol.  XD



Today's article:

My Experience with the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol

GAPS Day 24: Feet :(

And knees :(

Well, I'm guessing that this isn't just a "normalization" of being on GAPS, I do seem to be going backwards in some areas, namely my feet and ankles. They're back to hurting a bit on waking, and while I stand on the train. Not as bad as before doing GAPS but the pain isn't 100% gone the way it was when I first started GAPS. I suspect that I need to do the Autoimmune Protocol; I've been eating nuts and eggs like crazy since going on full GAPS, as well as regularly eating tomatoes.

I've suspected that some of my problems are autoimmune in origin for a while; I have eczema, which is an autoimmune condition, and if you have one autoimmune symptom you have autoimmunity. I'm going to stick with just doing GAPS for now; the idea of limiting my diet to even further will completely drive me off the deep end. The gut is the first thing I need to get under control, after that I'll work on the autoimmunity. (Then again, my gut problems may have an autoimmune component, in which case I may have to do both at the same time waaaaaahh!!)

I felt so amazing doing intro GAPS but IT'S. SO. GODDAM. HARD!!! I will definitely redo the intro again but I'm hoping that I can do it for a month or so at a time, and not for years and years and years and years (please god no).

I've also been having bathroom issues again; I keep trying to increase my HCL dosage and it's just no good, my digestion can't handle it. But increasing stomach acid soooo important to improving digestion that I keep pushing! I've been taking one 650 mg with breakfast and snack (even though I don't eat a lot for my snack) and two with dinner. I've also been taking relatively large amounts of fish oil, which also tends to loosen stuff up. This is important but not as important as getting my digestion on track so I may try cutting out the fish oil and just focusing on the HCL. Ugh, this is so complicated!!!!

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Breakfast (at 10:30 am as usual) was LSF crackers (I have to remember to bring in my GAPS pancakes!!!) with "Mexican" soup, just broth with shredded beef, salsa, and cauliflower. Nothing fancy. A small apple and some nuts afterwards. Snack was cucumber from the cafeteria salad bar, guacamole, salsa, and smoked salmon (with just salmon and salt - you have to read the label because they freaking love putting sugar in everything) with a Larabar (I really have to start making these!)

F came over tonight - he was supposed to come last night but forgot (hence the salsa and guacamole - I may not be able to eat corn chips but he can... also, I just love my local Mexican restaurant's salsa, and guac is always awesome!) I had egg burrito again and was going to make F a platter with the chips, guacamole, beef, etc. but he ended up coming really, really, REALLY late (10:45 pm!). And he's bought a sandwich. Huh.



Today's article:

"The Autoimmune Protocol" (from The Paleo Mom)

"Autoimmune disease is an epidemic in our society, affecting an estimated 50 million Americans. But it doesn’t have to be. Although genetic predisposition accounts for approximately one-third of your risk of developing an autoimmune disease, the other two-thirds comes from your environment, your diet, and your lifestyle. In fact, experts are increasingly recognizing that certain dietary factors are key contributors to autoimmune disease, placing these autoimmune conditions in the same class of diet- and lifestyle-related diseases as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. This means that autoimmune disease is directly linked to our food choices and how we decide to live your life. It also means that we can manage and reverse autoimmune disease simply by changing how you eat and making more informed choices about sleep, activity, and stress… and that’s some pretty darned good news!"