Autoimmune and methods for gut heal please share stories

Posted by abhishek80 @abhishek80, Jun 12, 2023

What are strategies for gut healing and have they helped ?

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I did an elimination diet and could not get back on many foods without symptoms. It was a surprise. I no longer have dairy, gluten, nuts, salmon, avocado, chocolate. It did help with some of my neurological sensations.

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@abhishek80 I’m not really sure what is bothering you stomach, but a simple change in what you eat can help. Avoid highly spiced foods and those with hot sauces. Also, citrus (like in oranges, tomatoes, lemons, etc) can be very hard on your stomach.
Has your doctor given you any suggestions on stomach healing?

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I saw a functional medicine doctor who helped me tremendously. I was already doing an AIP diet when I first saw her. She had me do a food sensitivity test that showed me sensitive to a lot of foods allowed on that diet. So I basically ate meat,some vegetables and some fruit for 6 months. She also had me take l-glutamine and probiotics. I still don’t eat dairy, eggs, or grains. The diet did eliminate my digestive issues, excessive gas and bloating, and my stiffness and joint pain decreased.

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I have celiac and collagenous colitis. I can drink dairy, but no gluten. I avoid NSAIDs and processed foods. My GI tract gets frisky when I eat much of either. I'm sensitive to perfumes and cigarette smoke (coughing and sneezing mostly, which strikes fear in some). I also exercise a lot and lift weights (exercise is anti inflammatory and resistance training retains bone mass). Attitude is important. Stress has a big impact on the GI tract and autoimmune diseases in general. Try to find things every day that elevate your mood. Living in our diseases is not good for us.

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The suggestions already on this post are examples of what I have done and also continue to do with some foods. My functional medicine doctor also recommended l-glutathione, prebiotics and probiotics.
You will need to find what foods you are sensitive to. But a good place to start is by eliminating processed foods, sugars (a good non sugar sweetener is Stevia), Spicey foods and hot sauces, alcohol, fried foods, gluten products(UDI’s bread, almond flour crackers, chips made with Cassava root, almond nut butter NOT peanut butter). And if you drink coffee, use a low acid coffee. I switched to Lifeboost that you can order online. Also fermented foods are good such as kefir (in the dairy section, pickles but only ones in the refrigerated section of the market, and sauerkraut. Yogurt is also good but without sweetness and that contains live active cultures. You can add stevia to it for sweetness. One I found is from Bellweather Farms made from grass fed cows and is easily digested.
As stated above, the gut or digestive tract mucous lining has been weakened and needs to be built back up. Our gut is made up of good bacteria but gets weakened due to antibiotics.
Best to you. It takes time to heal the gut but consistency pays off. If this all sounds daunting, take it slow. Eliminate as stated above and choose a few food items suggested that sound good to you and over time, add something new to increase the variety of foods you’ll enjoy without consequence.

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I have celiac disease and ulcerative colitis. Am strictly gluten free. Try not to eat a lot of the allowed starches either -- find I'm better off limiting corn and rice in particular. Re: supplements, have had best results with Ion Gut Health and Pure Encapsulations L-Glutamine. Wishing you all the best!

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@cpd54

I saw a functional medicine doctor who helped me tremendously. I was already doing an AIP diet when I first saw her. She had me do a food sensitivity test that showed me sensitive to a lot of foods allowed on that diet. So I basically ate meat,some vegetables and some fruit for 6 months. She also had me take l-glutamine and probiotics. I still don’t eat dairy, eggs, or grains. The diet did eliminate my digestive issues, excessive gas and bloating, and my stiffness and joint pain decreased.

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Ditto to everything you said!

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@bayhorse

I have celiac disease and ulcerative colitis. Am strictly gluten free. Try not to eat a lot of the allowed starches either -- find I'm better off limiting corn and rice in particular. Re: supplements, have had best results with Ion Gut Health and Pure Encapsulations L-Glutamine. Wishing you all the best!

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Hi..can you tell me about the supplements you take Ion gut health and the L-glutamine. Where do you get it..? Thanks kitty2..I have severe ulcerative colitis and went off the steroids..too many side effects..I could no longer handle what was going on.

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@kitty2

Hi..can you tell me about the supplements you take Ion gut health and the L-glutamine. Where do you get it..? Thanks kitty2..I have severe ulcerative colitis and went off the steroids..too many side effects..I could no longer handle what was going on.

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I researched this since my wife and I both have inflammation problems. She has microscopic
colitis with typical IBS symptoms.
Beets and beet juice are anti-inflammatory in the GI system.
Same good reports for pomegranate juice. I consider turmeric helpful. Avoid sugar and artificial sweeteners. Stevia without erythritol and agave are better. Don’t forget added vitamin D is a key immune modulator and may not be readily absorbed in IBD. Avoid gluten, even non celiac
sufferers can benefit from eliminating most of it from our diet. Fodmap in my opinion is just
lessening symptoms not as relevant as an anti inflammatory
diet trial. Journal your food and symptoms and be consistent in your routine if your lifestyle allows. Very difficult to find healthy fast foods. Many restaurants and making an effort
for diet conscious customers.

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@kitty2

Hi..can you tell me about the supplements you take Ion gut health and the L-glutamine. Where do you get it..? Thanks kitty2..I have severe ulcerative colitis and went off the steroids..too many side effects..I could no longer handle what was going on.

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Hi, Kitty: Ion Gut Support (not gut "health" as I wrote previously) is a liquid humic extract product that is supposed to protect against toxins and help gut microbiome health. I buy it on Amazon; it is tasteless and odorless, and you just add a teaspoon of it to whatever you're drinking three times a day. The L-glutamine I buy is a powder; I use one scoop (it's a tiny scoop included in the product) a day. It is supposed to help gut integrity, among other things.

Re: your UC. I was on steroids 13 years without a break. I am now on Entyvio and am doing well. Perhaps talk to your gastroenterologist about Entyvio or another of the several biologics that are currently being used to treat UC. Wishing you the best!

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