31 days.. day 21

Day 21: Pump up your probiotic intake

I've been hit or miss with the whole probiotic movement. Back in 2007 when I first started having major digestive tract issues, I looked into taking a daily probiotic to see if that would help calm things down. It really didn't, and for years I tried every elimination diet I could think of. Dairy, gluten, soy.. you name it, I cut it out for a time. But nothing seemed to work. In 2010 my doctor and I finally decided a colonoscopy was in order. I underwent the procedure on my 28th birthday, what a joy! Mind you, neither of my parents who were in their 50s and 60s had had one yet.. I also had allergy tests retaken. Nothing really came up as truly problematic, though wheat did come up as a sensitivity.

So I tried the dietary changes again and this time was uber strict about going gluten free. That was during the beginning stages of the gluten free fad, so in a way the timing worked to my advantage. I was incredibly careful about what I ate. This was also around the time I discovered CrossFit and though I will never eat paleo, the gluten free diet did help my performance since I was largely avoiding processed foods anyway.

And it worked! I'm sure a large part of it was stress related, but after a couple months on the diet I found myself thinking more clearly, not breaking out as much, and most importantly not feeling bloated and experiencing other GI symptoms (which I will kindly avoid sharing with you here.) The best way I can describe it was like a fog had been lifted. You know those allergy commercials where the screen is blurry and then they take the medicine and - whoosh - everything is crystal clear? That's how I felt.

I was very strict for about 2 years, and then found myself cheating here and there by year 3. I noticed as more time went by, the more sensitive I actually became. For example, when I did cheat by having that one slice of pizza or that one beer, it was payback time for weeks. Prior to being so strict I was able to have that one slice of pizza now and then and be okay. But it seems I was training my gut to not be able to tolerate gluten at all. Which frightened me because I do love beer, and I didn't want my sensitivity to turn into a full blown allergy. By the end of year 3 I decided to tempt fate a bit and start to add gluten back into my diet more regularly. Initially it was rough, but now that we're into year 4 I can say that I can enjoy a beer now and then without destroying my gut. But forget about having a pizza AND a beer.. that's still asking for too much!

Back to the probiotic thing.. I know there are benefits. And I have a bottle of pills left over from a previous year that I should probably think about taking again. I'm just happy that my gut and I are once again friends.