For the past 1 ½ years I have been writing about health and wellness. My passion for the subject has come from a long journey of trying to achieve optimum health, a goal that has not been easy to achieve, to say the least.
Yes, I feel good most of the time. Much much better than 10 years ago and I believe that this is largely due to a health centered lifestyle and diet approach. I practice yoga, do breathing exercises, eat real food, which is seasonal and local, fresh and wholesome. I do not eat processed foods, sugar, junk, and inflammatory foods and generally look after myself pretty well.
Yet, I am not at 100 % full function, something that I became more painfully aware of when I embarked on my Functional Diagnostics Nutrition training recently and had a series of tests done to identify malfunctions in my body.
As it turns out, my gut is leaky. I knew it was 10 years ago and at that time I had plenty of symptoms to prove it. By being very careful with my diet I thought I had healed it.
Turns out I didn’t. A chronic bacterial stomach infection has most likely been the culprit. This stomach infection has been a hidden stressor that has interfered with my digestive function, causing hyper intestinal permeability and through that multiple food sensitivities, stage 3 adrenal fatigue resulting in hormonal and other imbalances.
So I have embarked on a gut healing protocol, which includes an all natural anti-bacterial and H. Pylori protocol, health-building supplements, plenty of rest and going back to a way of eating, which is also known as the Paleo diet, which has become hugely popular for its ability to heal digestive issues, diabetes, inflammation, and help with weight loss, among other things.
What is Paleo?
In the course of the next 30 days I will write a detailed article on Paleo * and what it all means but for now, in short, it means a way of eating that is in line with the way our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate, long before agriculture came into the picture. Many scientists and experts claim that this is the way we are still genetically designed to be eating: animal protein, healthy fats, lots of vegetables, fruits and limited amounts of nuts and seeds. So no: grains, legumes, dairy, potatoes, sugar, inflammatory seed oils and obviously no other modern day junk.
I am adding to the mix: no chicken, beef, shrimp, (sweet) potatoes and a few other odds bits and pieces such as black pepper, oregano, zucchini etc. because one of the tests I did showed I had inflammatory reactions to these foods.
Good luck with that, I hear you say… 😉
The good thing is that I have been there, done that. Minus the food sensitivity mix of course. I was full Paleo for about a year a few years ago while living in the U.S. and although initially a tough transition, it soon became an easy way of eating. I must admit that being Paleo in the U.S. is relatively easy because there is such easy access to high quality meats, eggs, fish etc.
Here in India the quality of the animal protein is often unknown and certain types of meat like beef and pork are harder to come by. So living in Mumbai, I guess I am in for a bit of a challenge on that front. Fresh vegetables and fruits are plentiful and easy to come by on the other hand.
My reasons for sharing this journey are two-fold. First of all it is for my own sake. To document how I feel, my experience etc. Secondly because it won’t be long before the whole Paleo approach catches on big time here in India. And for those of you that are looking to learn more or adopt a similar diet / lifestyle, hopefully these blog posts will help in some way.
I do want to point out that for me, going Paleo at this point is a “therapeutic” choice. I do not necessarily believe that we all need to permanently live grain- or dairy – or legume free. Having said that, many of us are dealing with gut-related dysfunction whether we are aware of it or not and this way of eating does provide a chance to heal and restore balance. I am intending to go for 30 days, and see where I am at before adjusting my diet at that point.
So here we go: 30 days of grain-free, dairy-free, legume-free and all other “health compromising foods”-free in India.
Stay tuned for daily updates.
x
Monique
* Read more about the Paleo way of eating and what it means in this article: What is Paleo?
