Friends, I’m on the verge of a major journey.
I’ve spoken before about my illness and the steps I need to take in order to function better and, if possible, heal.
Only problem is, UC is an autoimmune disease, and there’s no coming back from that. Masking the symptoms and striving for remission through drugs and other methods is the only way to go.
Well guess what? That’s not good enough for me.
Recently I was blessed to be introduced to The GAPS Diet. Basically it stresses a grain-free, sugar-free lifestyle in order to allow the intestine to heal and seal itself, while at the same time focusing on repopulating the gut with healthy bacteria in order to put things in better balance.
It makes sense that the only way to stop the symptoms is to heal the gut. Doesn’t it?
So over the past several weeks I’ve been doing a lot of research, reading a lot of blog posts and articles, watching hours worth of videos from doctors and diet devotees alike. And all signs point to me diving into this new lifestyle.
The good part is, it’s not for life. Most people see results within 2-3 years and can slowly reintroduce “regular” foods after that.
The yucky part is…well, you’ve met me, right? This is primarily a food blog. I like pasta. And chocolate. And buffalo chicken. And pasta again.
And like I told Rob last night, even though I might only eat a cheesesteak once or twice a year (and that’s a generous estimate), knowing that it’s out there if I want it is comforting. Knowing that I absolutely can’t have it is the hard part.
No flour, sugar, yeast, cured meats, chocolate (though there are conflicting stories on cocoa powder, but even then that’s an advanced food), almost nothing mass-produced or pre-packaged. As we’ve seen in the news a lot lately, sugar is in just about everything.
I’m not gonna lie. I’m grieving a little.
It helps that I love to cook, right? Mama’s gonna have to get creative up in here.
In the dark times, and I’m sure there will be many, I’ll need to remember that nothing is worth feeling this way. Nothing is worth the shame and embarrassment and pain and despair. The exhaustion and depression and fear while living with this disease. Absolutely nothing.
I hope to share this journey with all of you and that I can help others who are going through the horrors of UC or any of the other ailments which GAPS is supposed to be able to treat. I hope you come along with me.
Do you have to follow a special diet? Have you ever considered it?
I’m Pouring My Heart Out with Shell today – thanks again, friend!
After my gall bladder removal a few years ago, my already sensitive digestive tract got so much worse. It seemed I couldn’t eat anything without getting, how shall we say? Gassy, at best…and sometimes worse. I tried eliminating whole categories of things – dairy, fat, carbs – nothing seemed to help. Until I cut out gluten. It has been literally life changing for me, and surprisingly not bad. Granted – I can have sugar, but I really don’t want it that often. The fact that this isn’t a “diet” – it’s something that really made my life better – has made it easier to stick to. I wish you luck, and hopefully you’ll feel better and won’t miss things as much as you thought you might!
I think the fact that I already enjoy cooking and coming up with dishes is going to help in a big way – and the fact that I love vegetables already. Plus when I start eating well I always marvel at how much better I feel and how worthless junk food is – but I always fall back in. Now that I can’t so much it should work even better. I hope! And like you said, it’s not a diet, which also helps.
I have to avoid sugar and flour and potatoes and rice. And yet I eat them. Because they’re delicious.
I need to get back on track. I’ll be looking for your new recipes.
I know, I know in my soul, that carbs do nothing good for me. I’ve woken up on a Saturday morning after having a low-carb meal on Friday night, and after having pasta, bread and ice cream on Friday night. One morning I felt amazing, energetic. The other I felt hungover even though I hadn’t had more than a glass of wine. Gee. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist.
And yet here I am, weeping and tearing at my clothes at the thought of giving up pasta. Sigh.
I hope this helps you! I look forward to seeing what you come up with, food-wise, because you are so creative. I know you’ll find a way to really make this work for you.
Thank you so, so much. Your friendship and support always mean so much.
Good luck Jen!
When I was breastfeeding my son, he developed eczema at six months old. I was advised to go on an Elimination Diet – eliminating various types of food to see what was ‘causing’ it. Turned out it was dairy so I went off all forms of dairy for over 4 months and it worked. It was hard but so worth it (it also helped me lose the rest of the baby weight!).
It’s always hardest when something is “forbidden”, isn’t it? But then again when it’s for our own betterment or, even more, the betterment of someone we love – it’s worthwhile.
I have to admit that I will miss seeing all of your delicious recipes but I think that this will be good for you in the end. AND… we could all benefit too when you start writing about all those delicious and healthy recipes that you’ll be coming up with!
Right now I’m not a on a special diet of any kind, but I am actually measuring my food and counting calories!
Hopefully I’ll still be able to come up with delicious recipes. Hopefully!
Although let me tell you, animal fats and butter and olive oil are used heavily. So…it’s not *all* bad.
Oh, Jen. Good luck, I know you can do this! And I hope you’ll feel better and healthier soon!!
That darn sugar IS in everything. I don’t have an auto immune disease, but I’ve just been trying to not eat SO much sugar, and actually, it’s not as hard as I thought it would be.
xo
Good luck, Jen! I truly hope this brings you healing
I have to admit, that diet would be a struggle for me. I like bread and pasta and sugar.
But, nothing is worth your health. Nothing can taste as good as feeling better.
Sending you lots of love and luck on your journey!
You mentioned bacteria but no sugar. Does yogurt fall into that category?
Excellent question. The only kind of yogurt I can “legally” eat is homemade, which has been fermented for 24 hours. I made some over the weekend and it was really easy. The bacteria (from a store-bought yogurt with active cultures) needs that much time to eat up all the sugar in the milk. Now? I have a ton of yogurt. A ton. Seriously. Come over and eat some.
Eventually I’ll be able to add honey (the only sweetener I can have) to it, and fruit. My digestive system isn’t in such dire straits that I probably couldn’t try it now, but I want to take it slowly.
[...] here I am again, this time on the GAPS Diet. No starch or sugar. I’m not gonna lie, I strayed over the weekend, but got back to [...]
Curious how your gaps adventure is going. Did it help? Thinking about doing the same thing. Let me know if it’s worth it.