Dawn’s Story; Part 4, “Diet”
Diet. Yes I am back to diet, because just when I was getting the hang of the gluten free, histamine diet, I got the results of my stool test. Yes, it’s that kind of stool and I don’t want to talk about it except to say that the lovely Anne-Marie who is a nutritionist at Dr. Donaldson’s office had some changes for me based on the results.
First, my results show that I have gluten sensitivity which just confirms that the gluten free diet is right for me and that it’s not advice based on the latest fad (as my husband skeptically noted). Second, I have bacteria and fungus in my gut and while my results aren’t bad at all, we need to deal with them. Yes, more pills and supplements!
The treatment for the bacteria is not so bad, I simply need to take an herbal supplement three times a day (before each meal) for 2 months. Okay. But the fungus (shudder), which is called candida (another thing you can google) requires not only six pills a day, but (wait for it) I have to avoid sugar at all costs. I know this isn’t healthy, but I love sugar. I was coping with giving up chocolate by eating caramels and all of the gluten free granola bars and protein bars that I was happily munching on contain sugar! Plus, I was allowing myself honey in my chamomile tea (yes, it’s diet-approved) since honey has all kinds of healthful benefits and it tastes good.
I am going to spare you the list of foods that I can’t eat, but just suffice it to say that the intersection of the histamine diet and the candida diet does not offer a lot of options. Begin pity party. The day after I received all of this news from Anne-Marie, Dr. Donaldson checked in with me via text.
It quickly turned in to a much-needed pep talk. Some favorite phrases include ‘There are 3 million more microorganisms in our bodies than we have human cells, now figure out who is in charge’ and ‘Gut is everything….more neurotransmitters are in our gut than in our brain’.
She wrapped it up with ‘Those people with good healthy guts and eat a lower number of calories live longer, look better, have better cognitive functioning and enjoy life more’. So, that’s what this is all about. Not just angioedema and pills, but quality of life. I’m in.