Lately, I've seen more and more 'food sensitives' pop up for people in their 30s and 40s. They come to me confused about why they suddenly can not tolerate dairy, bread, weetbix, beans and legumes. They were fine a few years ago and ow they fear these foods will bring on tiredness, joint pain, bloating. So, what is happening here and what can we do about it?
I’ve had parents contact me asking if I can help their children who are in year 9 – 12. They complain of bloating, gas, constipation, gut pains. Because of this they might miss days at school, avoid socalising and isolate themselves. Time and time again, I’ve found it all stems from food habits and gut health. More and more kids are rushing to the canteen foods which are often highly processed. Lunch boxes are lacking nutrition too nowadays. People are forgetting how to implement the fundamentals of good nutrition.
I see it in uni students too. University can be very stressful. Reflecting back on my time through uni, I was drinking cups of coffee throughout the evenings to stay up and study or finish assignments. At times I was eating chocolates throughout the evenings and there was a point when my cholesterol was at about 7.5mmol (the ideal level is 4.5 and below).
So the patterns that I’ve seen in my clients causing food intolerances ltwr in life:
1) Malnutrition due to undereating and therefore starving the gut microbiome of those hard working gut bugs. When we don’t nourish our gut bugs, like any other organism and animal they die off. So when we don’t eat enough food, they can’t sustain themselves and the beneficial bacteria reduce in numbers. When the benefitial bacteria reduce in numbers, the bad guys are likely to increase as they can also feed of our gut lining, which is made of protein, to survive and thrive!
2) Malnutrition due to poor food choices (toxic overload) we can look healthy on the outside but have a 'bleached coral reef system' in our gut going on. When we choose predominately processed foods, foods high in saturated and trans fats, salts and refined sugars we don’t get all the good stuff from wholefoods which is our fibres, antioxidants, polyphenols, vitamins and minerals. Wholefoods nourish our good gut bacteria and help maintain a balanced ecosystem of gut bugs. When we are not getting our nourishing foods, pathogens rave our system. Gut dysbiosis occurs. There is a real imbalance of the good vs bad bacteria.
Whether it be from undereating or from poor nutrition choices, the result is the same: A bleached coral reef system as our gut microbiome. A dysbiosis of gut bacteria. Without the fibre loving gut bugs present and without feeding them fibre, they can’t do their job. Their job is to breakdown and use fibre as fuel. When they eat fibre, their waste product are beneficial chemicals to the human body. Their 'poop' helps strengthen our gut lining. They are called Short Chain Fatty Acids and they help prevent disease through strengthening the gut lining.
In summary: Malnutrition caused by either under eating or poor food choices (toxic overload) leads to a weakened gut lining. This weakened gut lining is the main cause of food intolerances later in life.
People report: I can’t have milk anymore, I can’t have sweet potato, I can’t eat wheat anymore… It makes me bloat, it gives me tummy cramps, it makes me feel sick… Whereas growing up as children they could. Unfortunately, the age of experiencing food intolerances is getting younger and younger. Along the way, because of malnutrition either from undereating or poor food choices the gut microbiome has shifted and favours the gut bacteria that produces the chemicals which are not so good for us.
It’s not all doom and gloom! The gut microbiome can change in as little as 2 weeks. There was a study done where researchers performed a 2 week food exchange in people from the same population. African Americans were fed a high fibre, low fat rural African style diet and rural Africans were fed a high-fat, low fibre westernised style diet. The rural African Americans experienced an increase in inflammatory and cancer markers. Whereas the African Americans on the high fibre diet showed a lower inflammatory markers and cancer risk after the 2 weeks. The gut microbiome showed these changes through an increase in those short chain fatty acids I mentioned earlier.
So when food sensitivities arise, don’t panic. That will make it worse! Stress impacts our gut health too. Reach out to a gut health expert and review what is going on. It is important to get the right guidance. Feelings of frustration will occur. Having someone guide you through the process will save you a lot of grief, pain, self-judgment and a lot of stumbling in the dark.
Gut Dysbiosis can be experienced in both the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract. It can manifest as reflux for example. It can manifest as abdominal pain, cramping or as constipation, diarrhoea. This will often help gut health experts tailor the treatment plan. Sometimes it is necessary to remove the triggers for a while, build up the gut microbiome with clinical strength probiotics and then slowly reintroduce the foods. Whereas sometimes, we need to focus more on habits around meal times to decrease stress. Sometimes it is about increasing variety and getting outdoors into nature more. Getting outside and doing some gardening is beneficial to our gut bacteria as we ingest some of their friends in doing so. So, the treatment plan will heavily depend on the client, their personal experiences and habits. First step to healing and strengthening your gut lining is getting in touch with a gut health expert.
I have had quite a few clients now with food sensitivities. Some in their late teens, some in their mid 20s, early 30s, women in their 50s with hormonal changes, and I’ve had an 80yo lady too.
For each client it was a very inidividualised approach depending on their medical history, daily responsibilities, living arrangements and being curious about what may have led to the weakened gut lining and food sensitivity. It also depended on how the food sensitivity presented itself.
The 80yo lady I worked with was often stressed about her own and her husbands health. She also had diverticular disease which are pouches in the large bowel. Her food intake included daily consumption of processed red meat. She was advised to follow a low fodmap diet. So by the time she saw me, she had cut out a lot of foods.
One of the issues in doing things without guidance is the confusion that occurs due to conflicting advice. Diverticular Disease is managed with a high fibre diet, this decreases the likelihood of inflammation and diverticulitis. When people attempt a low fodmap diet without guidance they often cut out lots of foods and decrease their fibre intake drastically. She was already constipated prior to the low fodmap diet, taking 2 movicol sachets daily for 2 years prior to seeing me! No wonder she developed food sensitivities and reported bloating, burning sensation in her tummy throughout the night waking her up, and was afraid to eat with her friends.
Laxatives affect gut health and abusing laxatives leads to malnutrition and gut dysbiosis, weakening the gut lining. With her, it was a very slow approach. I used specific probiotics and herbs to help strengthen and sooth the gut lining whilst simultaneously reintroducing foods. It took a total of 9 months, we did monthly consultations and a few phone calls in between. Keep in mind this is an elderly lady so 9 months didn’t seem long to her. We steadily worked at a pace she was comfortable with to stop taking the laxative under my guidance and with the GP in agreement to the plan of:
Increase fruits and vegetables
Increase variety
Increase fibre
Switch back to gluten containing bread because she hated the taste of gluten free bread, it was so expensive and she was not gluten intolerant
Decrease processed and red meats overall
Introduce probiotics and prebiotics
She now enjoys meals with friends without worrying about having an episode of bloating or burning sensations. She is regular and happily sings on her backyard porch.
I wanted to share this story because it can take time. Some clients experience and come back to report everything is "fixed" after as little as 2-3 weeks and some clients need extra time, guidance and care with the plan. It really does depend on a large number of factors.
Summary:
Everyone is unique, the strategy to heal our gut is unique to every individual.
Stress can have a negative impact on our gut health
No popular diet is a one size fit for all and it doesn’t work for unique situations such as food sensitives – so overall seeing a professional to craft a unique strategy to heal is the ideal approach.
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KEYWORDS: Food Intolerances, Gut Health, Digestion, Microbiome, Gut, Microbes, Leaky Gut Syndrome, Bacteria, Short Chain Fatty Acids, Fibre, IBS.
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