How does one go about healing the gut? Does it happen with strict adherance to the diet? With supplements and probiotics? I'm curious about the GAPS diet but not sure if it works with this.

You will probably be getting a post from Lola when she gets a chance.  

She will be able to give you the best links to read and she has the most up to date information.

Joy

GAPS is similar to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet™.

It does not consider blood type or any of the other customizing factors considered in SWAMI diet plans.

To know how close/compatible GAPS was to your SWAMI diet plan, I would need to go through your SWAMI plan and compare each individual food there with how the food is treated in GAPS.

Rachel-- getting a breath hydrogen would give you a base line on your gut health.

Swami and protocols.

Quoted from Rachel D

How does one go about healing the gut? Does it happen with strict adherance to the diet? With supplements and probiotics? I'm curious about the GAPS diet but not sure if it works with this.

Skip GAPS. Grab some stuff recommended by Lola.

It is really about getting your immune system called down. It'll happen as you detox. But to encourage that keeping a good barrier of proper digestion, absorption and balance, will matter. Those protocols are focused on encouraging healing and avoiding damage from offensivable things.

Are you getting your exercise? Can not overstate it for Explorers. When Explorers get really old and stop moving around the end is near. If they can get up and move they just never die.

Good question, and good answers. We are all individuals, so if addressing the regular known culprits doesn't do the trick, you may have something unusual you'll have to figure out on your own.

I am also the position of healing the gut; keep checking in with other regulars on this site; one can learn a lot.  Different approaches work for different people; it's a matter of finding what works for you.  Sometimes it can add more stress trying to adhere strictly to diet, even low fodmaps diet, or SCD.  For me, it's about tuning in to your body and when things don't work, having the wisdom to change something.  Some people can't afford supplements, I personally have taken supplements since my twenties; most did not benefit, my health went downhill as I continued to eat grains and too much sugar, fruits and not a balanced diet or lifestyle.  If I would choose one or two supplements, it would definitely be the right probiotic for your BT; followed by some oil (cod liver) or herb (??slippery elm) to soothe the inflammation in the gut. Additional stress management (ie meditation, yoga, etc) may help, as anxiety/worry continues to weaken the whole system (look up spleen/pancreas energy on TCM sites).  The offending foods need to be eliminated from diet, as these continue to inflame the gut and the body sees them as toxins which also stresses the liver, and weaken spleen/pancreas meridien energy; which in turns affects emotional health/stablity, and long term health.

I have poyflora, deflect, and ghee and have been using them a little. They do help but I'm almost out. I just can't afford anything right now

Quoted from Rachel D

I have poyflora, deflect, and ghee and have been using them a little. They do help but I'm almost out. I just can't afford anything right now

Do you buy ghee? It is much more economical to make your own and easy. There is a thread floating around about it. Perhaps someone who is more adept than I am on the board will fetch it for you.

Also, next time you purchase polyflora, ferment some almond or rice milk with it to make yoghurt and hold some back as a starter to get the newer batch inoculated.  

The one I have right now is store bought because I felt as if I needed the garantee of casein and lactose free. I seemed to react to the batch I made at home. Rice and almond milk are avoids for me. I've never tried to make either or yogurt.

When you make ghee, be sure to simmer it long enough for the milk solids to all sink to the bottom and turn golden brown.  It's a step beyond making just Clarified butter.

I use a little ghee daily and still take an Intrinsia and a couple of Polyflora capsules every day.  I suffered from IBS for decades and even after a decade on the Blood Type Diet, I was not able to completely heal my gut until I eliminated all gluten from my diet.  Interestingly, when I got my SWAMI a couple of years ago, I am instructed to be gluten-free.

What does your SWAMI tell you about gluten and dairy for yourself?

It gives me low gluten choices and the cheeses vary according to my secreter status which I don't know. The last cheese I tried was mozzeralla and it gave me the same nasal blockage/ ear pain as all dairy products normally do.

Quoted from Rachel D

It gives me low gluten choices and the cheeses vary according to my secreter status which I don't know. The last cheese I tried was mozzeralla and it gave me the same nasal blockage/ ear pain as all dairy products normally do.

Do you think you could make it without the gluten and dairy 100%, at least for a few weeks to see if there might be a big difference?  It will take longer than that for your gut to heal, but maybe in that time you could see if those two foods are sabotaging your efforts.

Generally, properly made ghee should not give you a bad dairy reaction unless your SWAMI says to avoid it.

I have made it longer than that without gluten and dairy. I'm not having any, other than the store ghee and I don't think it bothers me. Right now the problem is sugar, not enough to no veggies, small amounts of corn, soy, and other avoids, and just not having food in general. I had a banana and cookie (GF flour, shortening, chocolate, white sugar) for breakfast, sardines for lunch, and scrambled eggs with GF pancakes topped with agave and margarine. I just don't have the foods I need here   just in survival mode.

My Genotype book is out on loan so I can't look this up: how long did Dr. D say it could take for our white lines to go away after making the dietary changes that will heal our gut?

Up to a year is normal, even after healing. I think that is what it was...

Thanks.

Quoted from TJ

My Genotype book is out on loan so I can't look this up: how long did Dr. D say it could take for our white lines to go away after making the dietary changes that will heal our gut?

Quoted Text

Up to a year is normal, even after healing. I think that is what it was...

Don't be too disappointed if all of the white lines aren't gone in this time frame, though...  The body sets priority for healing and there may be something that is higher priority within the body...  It depends on your specific history.

I'm really not sure how much healing my gut needs. I don't think I have white lines in my fingerprints, maybe 3 on my left thumb but I think that's it. By white lines, are they typically horizontal and look like cracks? My fingerprints come out pretty good. Can there be vertical white lines? I have what I can only describe as wrinkly looking lines that just barely show up in my print. When I see others with white lines they are all deep looking and horizontal.

What got me thinking about healing the gut was the fact that I get really bad morning breath depending on how compliant I am and thought it might be fermentation in the gut. Recently I've noticed that sugar (even organic apple juice) seems to be making that worse and honey caused mucous in my throat and pain in my ear just like milk does. Now I'm wondering if one of the reasons why dairy gives me so much trouble could be because of the sugars? And I'm wondering if a reaction to honey might be pointing to nonnie. Hmmm..

I hear you on the survival mode! I've been there but now I'm trying a more active approach rather than sitting back and eating what's at hand. I made beef and vegetable soup tonight with veggies I'm allowed for Gatherer. It was delicious!

I don't know how long the healing takes because I'm still fine tuning the getting off the gluten and dairy. What I've noticed is that my body and gut went from being sort of passive about the gluten (hit and miss on bad reactions) to slowly being worse and worse. Now I can't even cheat on a couple of fried mushrooms without feeling it. Same with dairy. I could handle yogurt and cheese but not milk or ice cream. This week sour cream and cheese made me pay badly on two different occassions. I'm now a believer and will stay the hell away from gluten and dairy!! I'm going to crack down on all of my avoids.

Oh, and I'm a sjogren's and lupus gal....autoimmune is my middle name right now.

Quoted from Rachel D

By white lines, are they typically horizontal and look like cracks? My fingerprints come out pretty good. Can there be vertical white lines? I have what I can only describe as wrinkly looking lines that just barely show up in my print. When I see others with white lines they are all deep looking and horizontal.

The white lines Dr. D is referring to are horizontal lines.  

Quoted from Rachel D

I don't think I have white lines in my fingerprints, maybe 3 on my left thumb but I think that's it. By white lines, are they typically horizontal and look like cracks?  When I see others with white lines they are all deep looking and horizontal.

They don't have to be real deep to show up, but the horizontal ones are indicative of needing to heal the gut.

Quoted from Rachel D

What got me thinking about healing the gut was the fact that I get really bad morning breath depending on how compliant I am and thought it might be fermentation in the gut. Recently I've noticed that sugar (even organic apple juice) seems to be making that worse and honey caused mucous in my throat and pain in my ear just like milk does.

Too much sugar can cause grief in the gut, but it varies per individual just like almost everything else.

What do the vertical lines mean? I have both horizontal and vertical.