Paleo is just the beginning for this girl
Blogging has taken a backseat lately as I’ve been immersed in research. When I attended the Ancestral Health Symposium, one of the most eye-opening presentations was by Dr. BG and Dr. Tim Gerstmar regarding gut health.
If you haven’t seen it and are interested in some heavier science, give yourself 45 minutes to view The Rainforest in your Gut with the accompanying slide show. A major point was that while Paleo makes huge improvements and even heals a large population, for some people it just isn’t enough.
I am some people. So are my kids.
For me. The PCOS is in check, but I still know there are other aspects where I could use a little boost, particularly in the food sensitivity area. Every single item on the autoimmune protocol makes my stomach churn.
For my 3-year-old. My son is another case. Professionals cannot agree whether he is on the high-functioning side of the autism spectrum or is afflicted with a condition that often accompanies autism; regardless, he has symptoms that affect his everyday life. These symptoms reduced right around 75% with Paleo, but he was still having a lot of challenges with a variety of sensory issues. We started neurofeedback therapy in August and his symptoms are so much more manageable, I’ve been lauding neurofeedback ever since. And yet, we’re not quite there yet.
For my 16-month-old. And then there’s my baby, oh my sweet baby. She is allergic or sensitive to seemingly everything. If I eat dairy, soy, gluten, or corn, there is a range of responses from big time crying and the inability to sleep to rashes and eczema. As far as her own consumption, she has broken out in hives after eating eggs and nuts, and gotten consistent rashes from sweet potatoes, strawberries, and peaches. We maintain a strict Paleo diet for her, but she is still having some health problems.
Sounds a whole lot like leaky gut to me. I’ve been exploring the GAPS diet to start doing a gut-healing protocol since she sure appears to be suffering from leaky gut. But being allergic/intolerant to several items in the introduction diet poses an issue that requires a lot of research on Mommy’s part.
So that’s where we’re at right now. I heart Paleo. It has been a lifesaver and was the absolute right place for us to start. Now we are ready to expand. This journey is a long one. Posts, responses to comments, and emails will be sparse and I thank you already for your patience as I embark on a quest to have the best-looking intestines this side of the Mississippi.
Tags: Ancestral Health, Paleo, Paleo Infants, Paleo Kids, PCOS, PCOS Cure, PCOS Nutrition, PCOS Symptoms, PCOS Treatment, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Good luck on your journey…can’t even imagine! Family comes first!
Thanks Sunny! I will still be around, just a bit less. And when I come back full force, hopefully it’s with a vengeance because I’m armed with so much new information and a whole lot of success
I just began the GAPs diet as well. Paleo was giving me horrible indigestion- and I want to speed this process. Blerg! Hope to hear more of your journey. It is not easy!
Ooh, please keep me updated. I am very curious to hear about how GAPS works for you. Do you have food allergies that interfere with any of the stages?
And Paleo gives you indigestion? I haven’t heard of that too much outside of the initial 30-day trial period. I love the Paleo success stories, but am always fascinated to hear the stories of how Paleo doesn’t work for people as well.
Thanks for your honesty. It seems there are people out there who believe Paleo is a cure-all for everything especially when it comes to kids.
Paleo makes my life 100% better than before, but not all my PCOS issues are resolved and a paleo pregnancy did not result in a complication free birth. Whatever. That doesn’t make me or paleo a failure.
I am interested to follow your journey as you continue the quest for gut healing.
Thanks for commenting Johanna. I agree with you and I used to be that way too. I suppose I wanted to desperately believe that if I just ate clean enough Paleo, everything would be perfect. It’s taken a long time to accept that I don’t actually have control over everything. Just working harder and being stricter isn’t necessarily going to lead to a life free of any problems. And you are absolutely right-you are not a failure, nor is Paleo just because your birth had complications. You are in such a good place to realize that. I wish I had come to that conclusion a lot sooner.
I have only done Paleo for 5 weeks, I came to it to cure PCOS and I really do believe that it will help! but I have started to have indigestion I never had before… so I starting researching GAPS. The last week I did the intro to Gaps as best I could. What I have found is that eating better, i.e. Paleo, can reveal intolerances/digestion problems you weren’t aware of??
Full Gaps is pretty much Paleo- so I do not feel like I am giving up on Paleo at all- and I really am still just at the beginning the whole journey.
I was never aware of ANY food allergies except for Lactose Intolerance before I researched Paleo. I didn’t even know that gluten could be and for me if I wasn’t “celiac”.
Its been a week- and I have started adding eggs/avocados- some grilled meats. I do fear I am moving too fast because I still have a lot of gas (sorry if TMI). But I find it difficult to know whether I am having “die-off” or intolerance.
Basically I am doing a lot of soups still- no sugar (even though Gaps allows honey etc even in the beginning, I am refraining)- and meat/low fiber veggies, animal fat and now eggs and avocados. I’ll definitely keep you updated! And I look forward to hearing your journey as well.
Can I ask… how long did it take you to see improvement of PCOS symptoms?? (Mainly- Hirsutism.) I am already at my goal weight (though I wasn’t always…. I actually got to my goal weight without Paleo- however quite “healthy” eating).
Hi Caroline, forgive me for taking so long to respond. First off, welcome to Paleo. Are you still working on it? How is GAPS going for you?
And yes, Paleo revealed a lot of intolerance and digestion problems for our family. After I stop feeling chronically ill from everything I was eating, I could feel my reactions to other foods more acutely. Like you mentioned, it’s tricky to know when it is die-off or intolerance. I haven’t started GAPS yet, so I don’t have any experience with that–but when/if I do, I will be sure to post about it.
As far as PCOS symptoms, it took me around 5 months to realize a lot of my symptoms were gone. The fatigue diminished almost immediately. At around 5 months, I looked at my stomach, around my bellybutton, and between my breasts and realized I just didn’t have hair there anymore. I am not sure how long it was gone since I had no expectations that Paleo would heal my PCOS. Also, I am half-Asian and we as a race don’t typically have a lot of body hair as it is, so my hirsutism wasn’t as debilitating as it would be for most women. I’m sure I would have noticed a lot sooner if I grew thicker/more hair. But since that time, I haven’t had any hair on my chin, breasts, jaw, or toes. When I have binge weeks (ugh, yes I still do those), I find that my hair starts to return near the corners of my lips and I get light sideburns.
Hope this helps! I’d love to hear more about your GAPS journey as well.
I’m really curious to see what you turn up about starting something like GAPS or paleo when you already have problems with many of the foods – a friend of mine wants to go paleo, but is allergic to nuts and many varieties of fruits and vegetables. I look forward to any info you turn up!
It has been a busy couple of months, but once I figure all of this out, I will be sure to post. I wish I had the resource for myself. I’m working with a ND right now and once the stool testing comes back, I bet we will have a lot of information to work off of. My little girl has sensitivities to so many foods that I eat, I can only imagine what will happen when she stops breastfeeding.
And about your friend–have you directed her to The Primal Parent? Peggy is allergic/intolerant to most fruits, veggies, and nuts too. She seems to be doing quite well. Paleo worked, but not all the way, so she found herself on a carnivorous diet.
I was researching the GAPS diet because I am about to start my family on it and came across your post here. The weird part is that I too am half Asian, “had” PCOS pre-paleo, and also have a 4 yr old son with ASD issues (specifically sensory processing disorder) and a baby girl (4 mos) that I’ve had to drop dairy and eggs for so far while nursing her!
The Paleo diet has been life changing for us, that’s for sure, but it’s not the end all be all answer unfortunately. I think you’d have to be born into a Paleo family (as in nourished by Paleo foods from conception and then continued from birth throughout your whole life) in order to have perfect health. If you spent anytime on the SAD diet, then you probably did some damage to yourself that might require more intensive dietary protocols.
My son is definitely better since switching him from SAD to Paleo, but I recently came to the conclusion that we just aren’t doing enough. The occupational therapy he does is fine, but it’s like a band aide for his issues, not really cure. I’m looking for a cure and I hope the GAPS diet lives up to that claim. We should know soon enough, we are starting this weekend. God help us! My son is SUPER picky about eating.
Good luck to you! I’ll be checking back periodically to see how things are going for you.
Tania girl, we need to get in touch. Seriously. Our situations are so similar, it’s spooky. My son’s ASD issues are almost entirely sensory processing disorder. We’ve actually started neurofeedback therapy for him (eeginfo.com and eegdirectory.com to find a therapist) and the results are amazing. Paleo was such a huge change in behavior for him, but the neurofeedback has given him new life. We can wash him and change diapers without crying, hugs without discomfort, bright lights aren’t the end of the world, and he likes loud(er) music now. We’ve seen such great success that my husband is even looking at making a career of it. If you want to chat about it, please feel free to email me.
Also, I’m very curious to hear how your GAPS experience goes. I’m doing phone consultations with an ND based out of Washington (Tim Gerstmar) and will be posting my experience on the blog as it happens. We didn’t go straight to GAPS because he wants to see what her gut looks like, so I’m just waiting for the stool test results. My guess is she will end up on an antibiotic to clean out the bad gut flora and then we can start anew. The only part we’ve incorporated is bone broth, and that’s really not as bad as I was expecting.
Good luck to you. I’m excited about your continuing journey.