A diet, for life?

DIETS - a permanent change of lifestyle ? Maybe not.

A lot of you contact me saying - I’ve been put on specialised diet (eg low FODMAP, low histamine, keto, paleo etc. ) and this is great if you’ve found a diet that can help kerb some/all of your symptoms. BUT, I urge you to keep asking your practitioner/nutritionist WHY, why do you have low histamine in the first place, why do low FODMAP diets help you? Be that annoying child that won’t. stop. asking. why.

I say this because there are a huge range of underlying conditions that could be the root cause of your symptoms, regardless of if the symptoms are gut related or otherwise; maybe you have SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth), or candida overgrowth, or leaky gut, or an underlying hormone imbalance. All these things are examples that may explain why you have these intolerances in the first place. The good thing about that is - you can fix these issues, and then (mindfully) go back to eating a far wider range of foods.

These limited diets do serve a purpose, but if you limit your diversity of foods permanently you may be limiting your nutrient/mineral intake, and you will certainly be limiting the diversity of your gut bacteria. This in itself may then cause other problems/symptoms. As I always go on about - variation is key, eat the rainbow (when you can!) 🌈.

Note, this CAN include autoimmune conditions including IBD (Crohns or Ulcerative Colitis) - despite this being a lifelong diagnosis, there are ways to keep inflammation low and live a normal life.

This DOES NOT however, apply to you if you are coeliac (you are allergic to gluten) or if have an actual allergy to any food.