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[Nstocks]

post 110956

That's all brilliant advice. I'd love to know what you feel helped you improve the most in health when you transitioned to a more peat recommended foods diet?

Thanks EIRE24, underlined items in bold are what helped me the most....just adding lots of carbs back in to my diet was a huge factor. I'd been low-carbing for years, eating only meat, TONS of fat (lots of it PUFA) and a few vegetables. I could no longer sleep, was massively stressed out, freezing cold all the time, had zero libido, etc, etc, etc.... Lots of carbohydrates helped me to calm the f*ck down and begin to re-think my entire lifestyle.

Removing PUFA to less than four grams per day was the second BIGGEE, the transition back to oxidizing glucose was a rough road but worth every bump along the way. Getting more calcium and less phosphorous made me feel waaaaay netter too, I had insane CRAVINGS for very salty cheese and bone broth. Salt cravings lasted a good year and a half.

Magnesium was also very beneficial, but I was having chronic gut issues (diarrhea) so taking it orally was making things worse. I had to use the Epsom salt baths and mag chloride spray (which I'm not fond of cuz it makes me feel sticky). Removing anything and everything that could possibly cause gut irritation, for me that means no wheat and very little grains...I was a bread eater for years and constantly constipated until my appendix ruptured in 2010.

Simply getting enough thyroid medication in while going through all of this too...I don't think I would have made it without T3.

I took TONS of progesterone too (really insane quantities) because I had a breast lump, that's gone now and I take waaaay less Progest-E, but I still take vitamin E daily, definitely helps with estrogen.

And B vitamins, I supplement most of them daily (B1, B3, Biotin). They give me energy.... I think perhaps I have lingering absorption issues or lack the gut flora that manufacture B vits (history of massive antibiotics).... I dunno, I feel better when I take them and I think they help me to use all the sugars better.

Even though I eat liver weekly, I must supplement vitamin A daily or my skin will break out....I don't know why I need so much A, but I feel better when I take it. I need around 30,000 IU daily, perhaps I don't convert beta-carotene well? Hopefully this won't be forever...

Removing as much stress as humanly possible, this one is tough because just being ill is a such a stressor and you can't escape yourself....My brain went through really some bizarre stuff during all of this, felt like it had simply checked out. I wasn't sure if it would ever come back online, it did! Maintaining HOPE and DETERMINATION was crucial. Peating isn't a quick fix, but I feel SO MUCH BETTER, profoundly more nourished that I'm certain that this is the way I will eat for the rest of my life.

Feeling cold all the time and having zero Libido was the tales of my Paleo days. I remember stumbling across a article online titled: "does masturbation cause acne" and realising I hadn't ejaculated in over 7 months! (I was 21 at the time)

I think my PUFA is above 4g, just because I often panic for something to eat, and wind up with cereals, trashy candy or crisps. Giving up grains would be a godsend (and so would giving up starch), but if I can't digest meat and vegetables like my last meal, is there really much difference with what I eat?! (there probably is)

Subconsciously, I wonder if my lack of career is because I don't think I can cope with being in a full time job with breaks set at certain times, work schedules, stress etc. all being a daily thing. But then I also realise sitting at home is not a life and I'm still stressed because of my stomach. Having a carer doing something I love (Architecture) is my personal determination and I spend all my free time working on a portfolio to keep improving my chances when I get into the industry.

Hmmmm. Perhaps start with HCL again?

 

[thebigpeatowski]

I think "lots of stinky gas" means UNDIGESTED FOOD is fermenting further down the intestinal tract. I would keep up with the apple cider vinegar and/or Betaine HCL when you eat meat and try an antibiotic like minocycline or a strong herbal antibiotic like standardized Olive Leaf Extract (1400 mg. twice a day with meals as a starting dose).

I'm much older than you and I can tell you from experience that being hypothyroid and going untreated for decades has definitely altered the course of my life. I won't say it ruined it because I refuse to give in to victimhood, but yeah...things would have been different.

I had to learn to cope with my health issues because no one (doctors/family/friends) knew what the hell was going on with me. As a result, I chose to be self-employed mostly because I could NOT deal with a full time job, being on time, schedules etc. I managed to get along for over twenty years, but had I not found Peat's writings (just in the nick of time) I'm not sure I could have turned things around on my own. I was in a rapid decline. Truly, his work is a GAME CHANGER.

I love that you love architecture!!! I secretly wanted my oldest son to be an architect. I adore all kinds of architecture, but have a special fondness for old buildings. I'm an antiques dealer by trade and have spent years salvaging architectural remnants out of buildings from the late 1800's. My kids were recruited as soon as they could walk and carry stuff, as a result they DESPISE old things, lol. :?

Proper digestion is crucial to healing, PUFA interferes with key enzymes in the digestive tract, try to minimize PUFA intake much as possible. :2cents

 

[Nstocks]

I've ordered the standardised olive leaf extract and will see how I go with that. I will sip ACV with water when I eat too, or buy HCL.

It's quite a relief to share my troubles with someone that has gone through similar lifestyles and can understand the impact this has, beyond health. It just takes the energy out of oneself to live life, even at the age of 25 :? Working in retail for 8 years (it was suppose to be a temporary job whilst I study and become an Architect), has pushed me to a tipping point where I just come home and cry about my life. And my gosh, how bad my stomach is at work after eating - I guess standing for 8 hours doesn't help digestion! BUT, I realise that I'm still young and adventurous and despite any pitfalls, I NEVER give up. I think everyone has a plan or intention in life "a dream" but only actions make those ambitions happen and I can't work any harder than I am over the past and next few months.

Architecture/design is my absolute purpose in life. NOTHING compares to the energy I have through Architecture and I'm probably too hard on myself to get everything perfect... It's terrible pay and very stressful (out of my the Architect's control) but I wouldn't change it for anything else, except working on coral reefs which is my hobby. I can't get enough of Architecture!!!

Thanks so much for your time and advice. I'll keep reporting any changes that I achieve.

 

[EIRE24]

post 110956

That's all brilliant advice. I'd love to know what you feel helped you improve the most in health when you transitioned to a more peat recommended foods diet?

Thanks EIRE24, underlined items in bold are what helped me the most....just adding lots of carbs back in to my diet was a huge factor. I'd been low-carbing for years, eating only meat, TONS of fat (lots of it PUFA) and a few vegetables. I could no longer sleep, was massively stressed out, freezing cold all the time, had zero libido, etc, etc, etc.... Lots of carbohydrates helped me to calm the f*ck down and begin to re-think my entire lifestyle.

Removing PUFA to less than four grams per day was the second BIGGEE, the transition back to oxidizing glucose was a rough road but worth every bump along the way. Getting more calcium and less phosphorous made me feel waaaaay netter too, I had insane CRAVINGS for very salty cheese and bone broth. Salt cravings lasted a good year and a half.

Magnesium was also very beneficial, but I was having chronic gut issues (diarrhea) so taking it orally was making things worse. I had to use the Epsom salt baths and mag chloride spray (which I'm not fond of cuz it makes me feel sticky). Removing anything and everything that could possibly cause gut irritation, for me that means no wheat and very little grains...I was a bread eater for years and constantly constipated until my appendix ruptured in 2010.

Simply getting enough thyroid medication in while going through all of this too...I don't think I would have made it without T3.

I took TONS of progesterone too (really insane quantities) because I had a breast lump, that's gone now and I take waaaay less Progest-E, but I still take vitamin E daily, definitely helps with estrogen.

And B vitamins, I supplement most of them daily (B1, B3, Biotin). They give me energy.... I think perhaps I have lingering absorption issues or lack the gut flora that manufacture B vits (history of massive antibiotics).... I dunno, I feel better when I take them and I think they help me to use all the sugars better.

Even though I eat liver weekly, I must supplement vitamin A daily or my skin will break out....I don't know why I need so much A, but I feel better when I take it. I need around 30,000 IU daily, perhaps I don't convert beta-carotene well? Hopefully this won't be forever...

Removing as much stress as humanly possible, this one is tough because just being ill is a such a stressor and you can't escape yourself....My brain went through really some bizarre stuff during all of this, felt like it had simply checked out. I wasn't sure if it would ever come back online, it did! Maintaining HOPE and DETERMINATION was crucial. Peating isn't a quick fix, but I feel SO MUCH BETTER, profoundly more nourished that I'm certain that this is the way I will eat for the rest of my life.

Thanks for the lengthy piece. I am going to start introducing some of this to my lifestyle and see if t helps me improve. I find the vitamin A and acne thing interesting as I too have an acne problem. I have tried vitamin A and zinc and thought both did not help but I never did a high dose of vitamin A like you. I guess I'm a bit paranoid to do it especially if my liver isn't in such good shape as I am healing. I'm wondering if I did take high doses would I see improvement or elimination of acne and also do you think such high doses would lead to toxicity or even an imbalance of other vitamins?

 

[thebigpeatowski]

Thanks for the lengthy piece. I am going to start introducing some of this to my lifestyle and see if t helps me improve. I find the vitamin A and acne thing interesting as I too have an acne problem. I have tried vitamin A and zinc and thought both did not help but I never did a high dose of vitamin A like you. I guess I'm a bit paranoid to do it especially if my liver isn't in such good shape as I am healing. I'm wondering if I did take high doses would I see improvement or elimination of acne and also do you think such high doses would lead to toxicity or even an imbalance of other vitamins?

I didn't start out taking high dose vitamin A, that was something that I added much later (and I hope the need does not last forever, but who knows?). I'm pretty sure I had a sluggish liver as I had chronic liver pain when I first started Peating, was NOT clearing estrogen, was not storing glycogen well, had terrible digestion....drinking the smallest bit of alcohol made me feel vile etc. Actually, the mere thought of alcohol made me feel ill.

I bought a bunch of Nutrisorb A and just took a drop here and there to begin with and also used some transdermally. Ten months ago when I felt my liver was much more healthy I gradually began to increase the drops and started to see more improvement in my skin when I got to at least five drops a day, ten drops a day was even better. I tried not taking it every single day, but my skin would flare. I have had skin issues my whole life, beginning at age 12. I never "outgrew" the teenage acne and the only time my skin cleared is when I took Accutane (took one round in high school and one round in college), but it caused MAJOR side effects and the acne came right back.

High dose vitamin A is definitely NOT for everyone. I have NO idea why I seem to need so much and yes, I do worry about toxicity. Maybe my guts don't absorb it all? I really have no idea....In addition to poor nutritional status, I kinda think acne might also be related to bad gut bacteria because anti-microbials seem to help.

If you're going to experiment my advice would be to make certain that your liver is happy first and foremost. Then add drops slowly, don't jump in with a 15,000 IU pill er something. :2cents

 

[thebigpeatowski]

post 111022 I've ordered the standardised olive leaf extract and will see how I go with that. I will sip ACV with water when I eat too, or buy HCL.

Great, I do think reducing the bacterial load will help gut motility. Fiber can be very constipating for some people too, it all depends on what species of gut flora predominate.

It's quite a relief to share my troubles with someone that has gone through similar lifestyles and can understand the impact this has, beyond health. It just takes the energy out of oneself to live life, even at the age of 25 :? Working in retail for 8 years (it was suppose to be a temporary job whilst I study and become an Architect), has pushed me to a tipping point where I just come home and cry about my life. And my gosh, how bad my stomach is at work after eating - I guess standing for 8 hours doesn't help digestion! BUT, I realise that I'm still young and adventurous and despite any pitfalls, I NEVER give up. I think everyone has a plan or intention in life "a dream" but only actions make those ambitions happen and I can't work any harder than I am over the past and next few months.

We're all here to help and learn from each other. You're fortunate in that you are a determined young man living in the information age, you WILL figure out exactly what you need to heal your body and have the energy to pursue your dream. I had NO internet when I was your age and had just given birth to my first child (major trigger for hypothyroidism). I had no way of finding answers....aah, the OLDEN DAYS.

Architecture/design is my absolute purpose in life. NOTHING compares to the energy I have through Architecture and I'm probably too hard on myself to get everything perfect... It's terrible pay and very stressful (out of my the Architect's control) but I wouldn't change it for anything else, except working on coral reefs which is my hobby. I can't get enough of Architecture!!!

I have just returned from a two week vacation in Hawaii where I spent every single day snorkeling different coral reefs...OMG, the tropical fish!!! The Sea Turtles!!! The Manta Rays!!! And Spinner Dolphins!!! But my absolute favorite are the REEF FISH, the diversity is utterly breath-taking. I even came face to face with a moray eel, which was somewhat unnerving .

For me, floating gently in salty sea water listening to myself breath slowly through a tube while surrounded by colorful corals and thousands of reef fish (who are just as curious about me as I am about them) is pretty much heaven on earth. At any rate, it's quite a contrast to the two decades I spent being morbidly obese, freezing cold, depressed, filled with anxiety and feeling barely alive most of the time.

Thanks so much for your time and advice. I'll keep reporting any changes that I achieve.

I EAGERLY await your progress Nstocks...in my situation it all began with fixing digestion and getting LOADS of nutrition in.

 

[Nstocks]

We're all here to help and learn from each other. You're fortunate in that you are a determined young man living in the information age, you WILL figure out exactly what you need to heal your body and have the energy to pursue your dream. I had NO internet when I was your age and had just given birth to my first child (major trigger for hypothyroidism). I had no way of finding answers....aah, the OLDEN DAYS.

Quite. It can also be very unfortunate to have - loads of information from loads of viewpoints. I still find the peeps on this forum to be the most open minded, REAL, individual and smart people to talk with. Heck, this IS my social life on here! LOL

I have just returned from a two week vacation in Hawaii where I spent every single day snorkeling different coral reefs...OMG, the tropical fish!!! The Sea Turtles!!! The Manta Rays!!! And Spinner Dolphins!!! But my absolute favorite are the REEF FISH, the diversity is utterly breath-taking. I even came face to face with a moray eel, which was somewhat unnerving .

For me, floating gently in salty sea water listening to myself breath slowly through a tube while surrounded by colorful corals and thousands of reef fish (who are just as curious about me as I am about them) is pretty much heaven on earth. At any rate, it's quite a contrast to the two decades I spent being morbidly obese, freezing cold, depressed, filled with anxiety and feeling barely alive most of the time.

JEALOUS. I know, it's truly out of this world that such beautiful creates exist and are totally natural! When I first saw saltwater fish a long time ago, I didn't think they were real and in the wild! I often find myself up close to my aquarium, completely immersed and uplifted by the natural world I've created. That's an empowering skills in its own right. But my gosh, some of the fish (Emperor Angelfish is still my favourite, but are grow really big))

Moray Eels are so interesting to watch, most of the time they look like they are on the hunt with their open mouths, but that's quite often how they breathe. Blue dragon eels are cool too.

Imagining myself snorkelling, listening to myself breath, floating over a coral reef has just halved my heart rate haha. What a beautiful picture you have just given me - I'll remember that.

I EAGERLY await your progress Nstocks...in my situation it all began with fixing digestion and getting LOADS of nutrition in.

I've just made spinach, cheddar cheese and egg balls. VERY tasty and nutritious. I can see these been a part of my diet, unless the cheese becomes too constipating. Next is a cooked apricot, date and shredded coconut dessert. Packed with natural carbs and no starch. Just need to be careful with too much fruit incase of the fibre or fructose cause more issues.

 

[Nstocks]

*exhausted*

I've been taking Mastic gum, magnesium and olive leaf extract for the past week now and don't feel any different. (not that I expected to be 'cured' yet!)

This update comes with a huge stomach, terrible gas, complete exhaustion from just walking up my stairs and of course, tears of pain.

Every single night I feel this way and I'm not even sticking to SCD for most of the time. Caloric intake has dropped since the idea of SCD where I'm cutting out all processed foods and not replying them with enough calories from real "legal" food. (Food orthorexic will NOT take over me again). The only meal I've enjoyed is tuna, cheese and olives. Love my apple juice and peppermint tea but nothing else sits well at all. This mornings breakfast was "paleo pancakes" with banana, eggs and coconut flour. I desperately search for idea of what to eat on SCD but when the time comes to actually eat them, they are not appealing at all and I just distract myself from the pain of having to eat. Every night I tell myself "tomorrow I'm just going to stick to these foods, in 2 weeks I will be a lot healthier". It never happens because nothing is appealing. Not even junk food but it's always there and has no starch.

I wonder if something is rotting away inside me and the Olive leaf is causing dye of symptoms? I don't really think I believe that because I've felt the same way for years.

Why in this western civilisation is food so hard to just eat

 

[tara]

post 113174 I wonder if something is rotting away inside me and the Olive leaf is causing dye of symptoms? I don't really think I believe that because I've felt the same way for years.

I don't have experience witholive leaf, but I think I've experienced what I think might be die off reactions/briefly elevated endotoxin loads from a first big dose of garlic when I haven't had any for a while. Only for a day or so, though. Then I'm guessing the endotoxin load is down to lower than before, and I feel clearer headed. If it continues to feel bad I wouldn't count that as a good sign.

Does chocolate agree with you? Milk or white? Too much of it doesn't do me good, and I don't have a lot of obvious gut distress so this might not be saying much, but I find it easy to digest (no gas), high calorie density, low PUFA, pretty palatable and portable.

 

[Nstocks]

I do eat chocolate almost daily and it's usually milk chocolate. (Cadbury dairy milk). It gives me energy and goes down well, but there no nutrition in it and I'm trying to avoid white sugar.

 

[tara]

post 113290 I do eat chocolate almost daily and it's usually milk chocolate. (Cadbury dairy milk). It gives me energy and goes down well, but there no nutrition in it and I'm trying to avoid white sugar.

Calories are nutrition too. :) If it goes down well, maybe you don't need to avoid it for SCD purposes? I don't think large quantities of refined sucrose are ideal in the long run - short on important minerals, and I don't think lots of chocolae every day for a long time is likely ideal for everyone either (though Jean Calment didn't do too badly with it). But you've got to have something to run on that you can digest, and you seem to be a bit short of them. Chocolate does have some minerals, too. And milk chocolate gives you at least a tiny bit of protein.

 

[Nstocks]

It's something I can include in a very short list of things to eat...

I had some dates and peppermint tea earlier, still have some cramping but I have a bit of energy now, and frozen feet. (winter is always hard).

 

[Nstocks]

I went 3 days without starch (except for today) and as long as I also move about a lot, I feel slightly better. I mean, still very constipated and still get cramps, but eating the same foods are helping slightly. Unless it's the die-off from olive leaf extract.

I wonder if a caffeine supplement would help anything? "Forza T5 green coffee" is a fat loss pill because the main ingredient is green coffee - 200mg, then 185g caffeine. I do want to loose weight, but that is likely only going to happen after I figure out how to improve my gut. Since energy is so low because I'm not absorbing it from food - caffeine might step up to fill the gaps for now? My hips/waist are very wide compared to the rest of my body (like I'm wearing a body suit around my stomach!) - so chest has some visible ribs, and collar bones are slightly visible, but I certainly no longer look emaciated - just look wobbly and 'loose'. That whole "calories in, calories out" is NOT effecting me in the slightest - I don't eat above 2500 these days;

Current diet is: apple juice, dates (not sure if they are helping but 100g for breakfast is a nice ritual), tuna, cheddar cheese, olives, peppermint tea, chocolate and soon eggshell powder.

 

[SarahBeara]

Hi Nstocks,

I've read through the whole thread and you poor thing, this is such an ordeal for you.

Just throwing it out there, but have you been tested for h pylori?

I say this as I share a lot of your symptoms and I just got diagnosed with it via endoscopy. The tiredness is so bad and you get really sick of being sick. I was basically down to eating cheese and sugar as they were the only things that didn't trigger a reaction.

I'm on day one of the triple therapy (amoxicillin, clarithromycin and PPI) and I don't know if it's placebo but I'm feeling some mild relief in the first time in 6 months. Just had a 'normal' dinner of potato, sausage and eggs to 'test' it and.. no reaction!

Just something worth investigating.

 

[Nstocks]

Thank you for reading!

At a quick glance bloating is one of the first symptoms - did you by chance decide to have an endoscopy and they found it? I can say right now, this would not be on the NHS! It seems every week I hear bad stories about them - this week my Father had a medical check. The Doctor droned on about his family in India and how many time a week he plays golf... My Father had a weight check and blood pressure check, so in a 10 minute session, the actual check was less than 2 minutes.

Many on here have suggested antibiotics (having only taken then once in my life last year - Yup, terrible health service here so I got a copy of my records). I'm currently taking Olive leaf extract which is said to be very powerful a close, natural alternative to pharma. antibiotics - I've 2 weeks supply left of those so if nothing changes, I'll look at an endoscopy. But I'd take an educated guess that if I walked into the Doctors office, he'd just give me antibiotics anyway OR I can pay £160 for a stool test to test for the bacteria... A full endoscopy is £2,500.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention and I feel so happy for you that you've found the issue :)

 

[thebigpeatowski]

Hi Nstocks...I've read that Mastic Gum can cure H pylori, how much have you been taking? I think you need at least one gram and up to three grams a day in a split dose for a few weeks.

Here is one guy's protocol, his story sounds VERY similar...https://slumbuddy.wordpress.com/2012/12 ... -h-pylori/


I'm AMAZED that you keep tropical fish, I tried once....it was VERY DIFFICULT!!! But my oh my there's nothing finer, I too can feel myself relax while watching them. Maybe that's why they have big tanks in many doctor's offices?

Someday I want a tank that takes up an entire wall...Ha, I'd hafta be a millionaire!

I keep several species of small finch birds now, they're fun and colorful and much more forgiving.

 

[thebigpeatowski]

I should mention here that I don't necessarily agree with the above mentioned protocol, but it seemed like a good starting point.

My totally uneducated opinion Nstocks, is that you probably have too much bacteria growing where it does not belong. If it were me, I would launch a full-on stem to stern anti-microbial campaign (also, take everything I say with a heaping spoonful of salt).

Starting with your oral cavity and working your way through your entire digestive tract. There are many methods for killing off bad bugs and sweeping the tract clean. If you have H.pylori it will lower your stomach acid which of course affects digestion. appetite, mood etc.

Might wanna skip the probiotics too...no need to risk SIBO or add to the burden if you already have that too. I had major fungal issues on top of SIBO so I took an anti-fungal as well. Raw garlic and Olive leaf or both anti-fungal so you're probably good there.

Increasing stomach acid with salt, betaine HCL and/or ACV is helpful. Digestive bitters and/or digestive enzymes too until you get your digestion up and running. All of this needs to be worked on while simultaneously increasing your metabolism. My own personal experience was that I could not increase my metabolism much WITHOUT fixing my SIBO, that's when things began to change.

It seems to be a vicious circle: poor digestion leads to a seriously sluggish metabolism, but fixing metabolism is VERY hard to do without good digestion.

In the meantime, just eat whatever you can that isn't completely toxic. Tuna is toxic.....also, pay no attention to anything I say :2cents

 

[ecstatichamster]

have you tried mastic gum for SIBO?

I started aspirin and found it hurt my stomach. Some searching revealed that may indicate H. Pylori. I started manuka honey and it seems to help and now aspirin bothers me very, very little. But still a little.

I'm thinking the manuka honey kind of worked, thinking maybe trying the mastic gum. I wonder if it also kills stuff in the small intestine that might make SIBO better?

 

[SarahBeara]

post 113973 Thank you for reading!

At a quick glance bloating is one of the first symptoms - did you by chance decide to have an endoscopy and they found it? I can say right now, this would not be on the NHS! It seems every week I hear bad stories about them - this week my Father had a medical check. The Doctor droned on about his family in India and how many time a week he plays golf... My Father had a weight check and blood pressure check, so in a 10 minute session, the actual check was less than 2 minutes.

Many on here have suggested antibiotics (having only taken then once in my life last year - Yup, terrible health service here so I got a copy of my records). I'm currently taking Olive leaf extract which is said to be very powerful a close, natural alternative to pharma. antibiotics - I've 2 weeks supply left of those so if nothing changes, I'll look at an endoscopy. But I'd take an educated guess that if I walked into the Doctors office, he'd just give me antibiotics anyway OR I can pay £160 for a stool test to test for the bacteria... A full endoscopy is £2,500.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention and I feel so happy for you that you've found the issue :)

Oh man, if you think the NHS is bad, try dealing with the Irish health service! I was waiting 4 months for an endoscopy. Though because we have a weird hybrid between private and public, my GP is private and I pay for each visit so get the full 20 minutes devoted to me, she really is excellent and very open minded.

TBH I don't think anything herbal is going to come close to antibiotics in terms of getting rid of h pylori, anyone feel free to correct me on this point.

Though when I'm done with the treatment I'll follow on with manuka honey and low dose erythromycin (acts more like a prokinetic than anti-b at low doses).

You can buy h.pylori urea breath tests which might be a cheaper option for you.

 

[Nstocks]

post 114285 I should mention here that I don't necessarily agree with the above mentioned protocol, but it seemed like a good starting point.

My totally uneducated opinion Nstocks, is that you probably have too much bacteria growing where it does not belong. If it were me, I would launch a full-on stem to stern anti-microbial campaign (also, take everything I say with a heaping spoonful of salt).

Starting with your oral cavity and working your way through your entire digestive tract. There are many methods for killing off bad bugs and sweeping the tract clean. If you have H.pylori it will lower your stomach acid which of course affects digestion. appetite, mood etc.

Might wanna skip the probiotics too...no need to risk SIBO or add to the burden if you already have that too. I had major fungal issues on top of SIBO so I took an anti-fungal as well. Raw garlic and Olive leaf or both anti-fungal so you're probably good there.

Increasing stomach acid with salt, betaine HCL and/or ACV is helpful. Digestive bitters and/or digestive enzymes too until you get your digestion up and running. All of this needs to be worked on while simultaneously increasing your metabolism. My own personal experience was that I could not increase my metabolism much WITHOUT fixing my SIBO, that's when things began to change.

It seems to be a vicious circle: poor digestion leads to a seriously sluggish metabolism, but fixing metabolism is VERY hard to do without good digestion.

In the meantime, just eat whatever you can that isn't completely toxic. Tuna is toxic.....also, pay no attention to anything I say :2cents

I'm talking 4 capsules of Mastic gum before bed (as recommended on the bottle) which is 2grams. The bottle states 4 caps per day for 4 weeks, then 2 caps as needed for maintenance.

Magnesium is 200mg most days and olive leaf extract is 500mg per day. The bottle for OLE says 1-2 4 times per day, but it's quite expensive so I'm going slow with it.

Bowel movement almost occur daily now. When I manage to go a full day without starch, but then have starch I really feel it. It's like a complete toxin through my digestive tract and never goes away until 24 hour later.

I've done years of eating fermented food and a few months of taking expensive probiotic supplements. I not longer eat anything fermented. No liquid dairy either. When I started raw kefir a few months ago, I felt really good, but after a while it became too tiring to keep eating/making it, so I stopped. (It's probably not related but the farm I bought the raw milk from has since been closed down. They have had a number of stopped productions due to contamination and now they are closed for good.... The last milk I had from that farm was 4-5 weeks ago)

Looking into internal diagnostics is going to be far too expensive, from what I've researched so far. Of course I've spend many thousands £'s on my reef tank and I might argue that could have been spend on a test, but with very little going on in my life, this is the one piece of enjoyment I have (most of the time - it can get stressful!)

For salt I'm eating a hard cheese (cheddar I think), not a lot incase it causes constipation... That's pretty much the only thing, unless I have meat. I know tuna has toxins (even though it's less than 1g of fat per 100g) but this is currently where I'm getting protein from. Tuna, olives and cheese is pretty much the only high nutrient meal I'm eating right now and is very quick to make.

I HATE asking this question, but in my situation what would you eat? Would you also keep up with the OLE or go for antibiotics?