AxSpa and gut health
I am wondering about doing a diet to reset my gut health. It's been a trendy topic lately, I have met people with AxSpa who did a drastic diet to detox their gut. The followed a method described in a book and found it beneficial. I have also spoked to someone who has done a 21 day gut health programme run by a company and he was very impressed with the results. So he is recommending me to try that. it's quite expensive so I haven't decided yet to do it.
I think I need a bit more evidence and feedback from people with AxSpa before making my mind about these kind of approaches.
Basically I want to make some changes in my diet to be healthier, eat better and have more energy and also reduce inflammation if possible. I am looking for long lasting changes and I thought doing first a diet to reset of my gut health could be a good starting point.
I would like to hear people's view and experience on that topic please. That will help me to decide where to start and what to do. I am willing to do some research on it as well so any name of experts or recommended resources are welcome!
Thank you 😀
Thank Sarah and Arden for your replies! This is useful.
I much appreciate your help there and the time you spent in sharing your story 😀
I also had an interesting discussion with another patient advocate today about gut health!
Looking forward to carry on the discussion. I will drop few lines here to say what else I have found, and what I have decided to do.
Take care.
I would recommend the book "Fiber Fueled". It was written by a gastroenterologist and is rooted in science. It talks all about gut health and how to feed your microbiome. The key, which you can tell from the name, is eating a lot of fiber!
I also worked with a nutritionist who specializes in anti-inflammatory eating. The principles I follow now are eating at least 5 cups of vegetables a day, limiting simple carbs like white bread and pasta, and limiting meat intake to 3-4oz servings. At meals, have a balance of mainly vegetables, ~1/2 cup of a complex carbohydrate, and protein in some form (beans, nuts, meat). Things I cut out: dairy, processed sugar, and soy (because it upsets my stomach, you may not need to cut it out).
There are a lot of fad diets out there so try to find books and guides written by medical doctors or registered dietitians.
Hey Julie,
So to make a dreadfully long story short, I've been cursed with a bacterial overgrowth and have been trying to get rid of it the last 6 months. I'm like 90% sure Humira caused it and it just went undiagnosed for a long time as well as one of my previous doctors feeding me antibiotics for an extended period of time. Unfortunately antibiotics are on my do-not-use list now because it can make my case worse, so I've gone the holistic route.
Because of this, the specialist I am seeing has been educating me on leaky-gut as well as improving gut health and the link between that and autoimmune diseases. In my own personal opinion, and in some of the research of done as well as experimenting with diet and supplements, I can understand how they would be linked. I've been doing a candida-cleanse diet and for the most part, it helps a lot with the symptoms I've been experiencing! It's really tough because you have to cut out a lot...it's a really strict diet. But I can definitely tell that what I am eating doesn't trigger *most* of the symptoms.
As far as doing research, I've searched high and low lol. Pinterest boards, Google, books, Instagram and even podcasts. There is so much information! It can be really overwhelming, but just be patient with yourself and enjoy the process of learning about it. It's actually really interesting stuff.
Some basic things I have learned when it comes to supplements is it is super important to be taking vitamins that help benefit your immune system. Lots of Vitamin C and D3. Also a good Vitamin B complex to help support your adrenal glands. What I've learned from the specialist I am seeing is that if your adrenal glands are shot due to high cortisol, it heavily affects your fatigue. So I would really suggest researching information about supporting adrenal gland function.
Anyways, this is all my personal experience from the last year! Theres a butt-load of information this is only just scraping the surface as I am no expert and I also have heavy brain fog lol. So if you want to discuss more or ask me any questions about my experience in the matter, don't hesitate to reach out 😀 I'm all ears!
Sarah (community advocate)
