In a world where we are constantly bombarded by conflicting nutritional ideologies, lose weight fast gimmicks and food on demand 24 hours a day, how do we sift through all of the garbage and make the best possible choices for our health? Well, I intend to find out!

First, I need to share some personal details. And chances are if you’re reading this post, we might even have some of them in common. Have you ever felt, for a lack of a better word, icky? You know tired, lethargic and unmotivated. Do you ever have cloudy thoughts, poor concentration and an always upset stomach? Not quite intense enough to see a doctor but always there, lingering. You may also have the bonus of your lower abdomen being super bloated and sticking out almost all the time. Well, that’s where this journey is starting for me!

I used to think that the root cause of my constant stomach issues was the result of a stressful work environment. Maybe I was getting an ulcer or something like that and I’d end up having to spend my hard-earned retirement dollars on medication in my “golden years”. But, as it turns out it wasn’t that simple.

Fast forward to today, it has been 6 months since leaving said stressful job, and I’m pursuing my dream of working from home. Now, in my mind, since my former job was the main cause of my stomach issues leaving said job should equal no more stomach issues, right? But no, oh so wrong. True, I had removed the negative stress from my life yet, my symptoms persisted, and I couldn’t understand why.

After having a conversation with a friend about her food allergies I started thinking about my own diet. Was there something about the food I was eating that could be causing my issues? I knew I was terrible at drinking water, really bad, I know, but by comparison to most people I considered myself to have a fairly “good” diet. I very rarely had soda or sugary drinks, almost never ate fast food and ate very little (added) sugar. Even though I considered my diet to be better than most, then what was causing my issues?

Like anyone else would, I started doing some research. First, I started reading articles about probiotics thinking that maybe I could find a quick and easy answer to my problems. They can have a positive effect on how our bodies process the foods we eat. This intrigued me, but I knew there was more to learn. I decided to try and find a book that could give me more in-depth information about how the body processes food, and hopefully, give me some clearer guidance to feeling better.

Now, I may be in the minority here, but I really feel that any sustainable, healthy, balanced diet probably shouldn’t include excluding any particular food groups whilst gorging on others. It just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. I would never want to forever cut out foods like bread or pasta, cut back probably, but completely cut out, never. SO, the type of information I was searching for needed to be deeper than don’t eat carbs, don’t eat fat, only eat meat, only eat vegetables, or whatever the latest nutritional trend is.

So, I searched, and hidden among the many lose weight fast with my 10-day program! fad diet books I found it. This was not a typical diet book where you basically starve yourself to lose 10 pounds fast. Those so called “diets” just starve you. Unfortunately, most likely, you’ll gain that weight back and then some the following month or two. I wasn’t looking to lose 10 pounds fast, I just wanted to feel better. And if the side effect of feeling better was losing some weight then that would be fine by me too!

The book I found was The Gut Balance Revolution by Gerard E. Mullin, MD. What I like most about this book is that it spoke to me straightforwardly. There wasn’t any hype or sugar coating, just the facts. I won’t lie to you, there were some terms I wasn’t familiar with and had to look up. But don’t let that to scare you away. I only mention it to tell you that I really learned some great things about how our bodies work. For example, did you know that there are more bacteria in our bodies than DNA? And that there is communication between the bacteria in our gut and our brains? Crazy right! This is why you get cravings for certain foods that you know aren’t all that good for you? Because it’s what the so called “bad” bacteria are craving.

So, if we’re mostly made up of different types of bacteria, some good and some bad, then doesn’t it make sense that we should be making sure that we’re eating foods that allow the good bacteria to flourish, like vegetables, fruits, and fermented foods. But, also keeps the bad bacteria in check i.e. cutting out processed foods and cutting way back on fat, sugar, and salt?

I love the analogy Dr. Mullins uses, comparing our gut health to the flora of a garden. It allowed me to really visualize what type of interactions are going on in there. Our good bacteria are like the flowers and our bad bacteria are like the weeds. Our gut is like the soil and the food we eat is the fertilizer. The quality and variety of foods we eat will allow the good bacteria to flourish and grow, creating a healthy ecosystem. If we make poor choices and eat foods high in salt, sugar and fat, we are not giving our soil the nutrition it needs. We are basically just feeding the weeds, or bad bacteria which will eventually starve out our good bacteria.

This book spoke to me in a way that made perfect sense and I can’t wait to see how I feel after completing the first two phases. There are three in total but in the third phase there are practically no food restrictions except for processed foods. I know that’s a huge category of “food”. But honestly, the more I learn about processed foods the less appealing they are*. I’m looking to make a major change in my life and this is my starting point. Phase one will be the most restrictive, boarder line Ketogenic but not quite. Luckily, my husband will be supporting me on this journey, so I’ll have help keeping me strong and on track. Thirty days from now I will be well on my way to healthier lifestyle and hopefully a much happier gut.

 

*If you want to learn more about processed food and why it’s so addictive check out Salt Sugar Fat, How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss. It’s an eye opener.