Now, I had a rather bad reaction to peanuts some months back (one of the things that prompted me to really look closer at the state of my health, and ultimately led to going Primal) and though I was very unhappy to have an actual allergy, I was more disconcerted by the fact that my whole life I'd had an ironclad constitution; put 3 day old shell-fish in front of me and not only would I have eaten it happily with some lemon juice, I'd have been totally fine afterwards too; and clearly that constitution was starting to fail. I'm only 27 so I didn't think I should be on the path to age-related problems just yet...and yet, that's exactly what seems to be happening to me.
After having my first son, I had some problems with my stomach; IBS and such; and also developed an underactive thyroid. I got the usual meds and they helped conceal the symptoms long enough that by the time I fell pregnant with my second son a couple of years later, I felt confident I didn't need them anymore and came off them without much problem. But I was much heavier than I wanted to be because I ate so much bread and dairy.
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| Meet the Sproglets: Ethan (oldest; at the back), Leela (youngest; in the middle) and Leon in front |
But within in a year of having Leon I lost a lot of it due to severe sleep deprivation with all the problems we had with the poor little thing. So when I fell unexpectantly pregnant with my daughter when Leon was just a year old (especially as my labour and birth with him had been so devastating to my body) I wanted this pregnancy and birth to be as healthy and as natural as possible.
I discovered a book called The Gentle Birth Method by Dr. Gowri Motha (whom I met in London and who is absolutely lovely) and with the empowering advice in her book, took up meditation, self-hypnosis and cut out all sugar and wheat from my diet as well as a lot of dairy. It was my healthiest pregnancy, I suffered no bloating anywhere and had a very quick and easy labour and birth (2hrs compared to 2days with Leon!) and my Leela was just the most peaceful, calm and alert baby I'd ever seen. Everyone commented on how alert she was as I didn't have any pain relief with her whatsoever. The hypnosis worked wonderfully, and simply knowing that my body was perfectly capable of doing this amazing thing, left me feeling confident, relaxed and calm throughout.
Then a few months later I started eating bread again, and went back to having a lot of dairy and the weight started piling on again. And I was starting to notice other problems returning; the IBS, the tennis elbow, the feeling of being tired all the time... So I decided once and for all I'd cut out wheat, and did so almost completely. I wasn't allergic so I didn't avoid things like packet sauces and the occasional tortilla with my favourite Mexican dish, fajitas. But it did make me feel so much better and I kind of reached a happy medium, I wasn't at my ideal weight but at least I wasn't putting it on anymore. And then the peanut incident happened... and so there I was realising that I just couldn't go on treating my body the way I was and started this incredible journey of healthfulness.
But lately, despite how healthy I'm eating, and despite how often I'm exercising, and despite the fact that I'm getting stronger and my belly is diminishing slowly, I'm feeling pretty crappy most of the time. I'm finding I'm more and more allergic to things I've never had a problem with. Coconut was the first to manifest, then just about every other type of nut, then almonds made me react, then lettuce, then pork, then the last bit of dairy in my diet: the milk in my morning coffee.... I was reaching my wits end. It was like now that I'd started treating my body with respect, suddenly it was throwing up all these things in my face and saying here get rid of this as well, and that and here's another.... At the moment it's a case of regardless of what I eat, I get really sharp stomach cramps for about 3 hours after, even if all I eat is a couple of eggs and a cup of herbal tea.
So I did what I always did and turned to the University of Google. The thing that cropped up time and again was Leaky Gut Syndrome. And what's more, not only was it listing the symptoms I was aware of, it was listing the symptoms I hadn't really paid much attention as well, like aching joints (arthritis runs in the family and I was starting to suspect mine was coming in early), memory fog, sleep problems and fatigue. A really good source of info is leaky gut uk and it was like someone switching on a light when I didn't know I was sitting in the dark. I knew a little about the GALT system (gut associated lympatic tissue) which houses 80% of the body's immune system, but I didn't understand fully how the nutrients and fats from foods moved from the intestine into the areas of the body that need it. Then I read about how if you have a leaky gut, bigger particles can get through to your bloodstream, such as bugs and even food, and trigger an allergic reaction because your body doesn't recognise the food in this form. I won't go into all the details here, but it is definitely worth reading up on and if you can spare an hour, Sean and Reed can really explain the whole concept of why we should return to a paleolithic diet and what leaky gut is really well, not to mention how it can be resolved.
But what really made me sit up and pay attention was the fact that Leon, who has had eczema since the day he started on solid food and also has always had severe sleep and behaviour problems, was exibiting a number of symptoms that could be traced back to a leaky gut as well. Among them is his intolerance to sugar and certain other foods, is still wetting the bed at the age of nearly five, has always had problems with his ears (he's already had a set of gromits, had his tonsils and adenoids removed, and has just recovered from another ear infection this time healed without antibiotics, but with my garlic medicine), and caught every bug going when the other two got maybe 1 in 3 or 4. It explained his mood shifts after eating certain foods. It was a bit of a revalation. After all these years and so much time spent begging the doctors to find out why he was the way he was, after visits to osteopaths and homeopaths with some help but nothing long-term, I finally had a grasp on a possible solution.
But the doctor I saw didn't even know what leaky gut was...
To the doc's credit, he did look it up instantly and came up with the site I linked to above, leaky gut uk, and he was honest that he didn't think it likely I'd be able to receive any form of testing for something like this from the NHS. He also did try very hard to help me and gave me an information sheet about IBS and forms to have both of our bloodwork done to look for coeliac disease or other inflammation that could indicate allergies, but... I just couldn't quite believe it when he told me that I was perhaps overly worried about one thing when it was so far removed from the symptoms I was describing. And that, folks, is modern medicine in a nutshell: treat the symptoms not look for the cause.
He admitted it was "beyond his training in mainstream medicine" and that it perhaps fell in the category he called peripheral medicine, that, according to him, sometimes becomes integrated into mainstream medicine and sometimes doesn't. He did say he'd look into it though and I really hope he does, because if I do go back, and I'm not sure I will, I hope that he'll be bit more educated and we can have a proper informed conversation about it.
So... is leaky gut fact or fiction? Is it the cause of the majority of ills besetting us today (and it goes without saying: along with a bad diet and lifestyle)? Or is it a figment of the imaginations of all those in the alternative medicine world? Will I go and have the bloodwork done? Maybe. Will I subject my son to it? Probably not. Do I expect to gain anything from it. Not at all. My faith in the medical profession has now completely been extinguished. How is it that these people who spend so many years studying to become doctors know less than me about how the body works? Of course this is assuming that the knowledge I've gained from said experts listed above is accurate, but it sure makes more sense to me than what any doctor or paediatrition has ever said, especially concerning my son.
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| Rosehip picking, autumn 2012 |
If anyone out there knows where we can go to get proper testing done (there's plenty of good-looking adverts on the web, but I'd sure like to hear from someone who's actually been there and done that if you get me, before I start digging round in the pocket fluff) and if anyone's had success healing their leaky gut, I'd really love to hear from you. I am determined to put an end to our persistent problems once and for all. I believe in my body's ability to heal, to reverse this self-distructive path it's started on, given the right nourishment, care and without the "aid" of allopathic medicine. Here's hoping I can find someone to help me make it happen.
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