Food intolerances and solutions
My personal experience with food intolerances and what solutions are available.
My story
13 years ago, my story of suffering reached its climax. I was nauseous day and night, I spent my nights on the bath mat in the bathroom, no matter what I ate, I immediately had diarrhoea. My work performance dropped rapidly, I had to take lots of breaks, was very tired all day and completely lacked energy. Holiday plans were made after suitable toilets, going out for a cosy meal with friends ended with me disappearing into the toilet and customer appointments followed by lunch or dinner together were hell for me.
I underwent various examinations, from gastrointestinal endoscopies, blood tests, etc. I travelled from doctor to doctor, from specialist to specialist. I travelled from doctor to doctor, from specialist to specialist. The following statements from doctors have stuck in my mind: "You're just a bit of a anxious little person", "I don't know what's wrong with you", "it's all psychological and stressful". A doctor diagnosed lactose intolerance. After getting the lab report, I realised that the diagnosis was wrong. Lactose-free milk didn't help either, so that explained it.
I eventually got to a point where I didn't care about anything and just wanted to sleep. Friends finally urged me to visit a naturopath in my home town who was known for his accurate diagnoses. After initially resisting, I finally agreed due to the massive amount of suffering and made an appointment.
This appointment ultimately changed my life for the better. During the examination, he immediately realised that I had a milk protein intolerance. He told me to start by cutting out all dairy products. At first I thought I was going to starve to death. What else should I eat then? But I was determined and disciplined and stuck to it. After just 3 weeks I noticed a considerable improvement in my symptoms. I only felt nauseous at times and the diarrhoea also decreased.
At the follow-up appointment, he arranged for further examinations such as blood and stool tests. The diagnosis was finally finalised. My intestinal flora was no longer present, the values of my immune system were in the minus range and a chronic pepper glandular fever (which my former GP had dismissed as a flu-like infection) was causing the enormous lack of energy and tiredness. Other food intolerances emerged, such as my sensitivity to black pepper, carrots, paprika powder and many others.
A carefully thought-out treatment plan was drawn up. Strictly eliminating all foods that I could not tolerate, building up the intestinal flora, treating the glandular fever and strengthening the immune system. It was a long-term therapy and it ultimately took almost 4 years for my intestinal flora and immune system to recover. I was already feeling much better and was able to carefully reintroduce the foods I couldn't tolerate via a rotation diet (see below). I still had diarrhoea from time to time, repeated bouts of mononucleosis and I wasn't really healthy yet. At this point, Ayurveda found me and helped me to regain the last bit of health that was still missing.
Root cause analysis
I spent a long time looking into where this massive imbalance came from and what actually caused it. Ultimately, you have to look at it from different angles.
Physical cause
From the age of 6 to 12, I had tonsillitis at least 3 times a year, which often ended in a middle ear infection. The usual treatment at the time was penicillin. I still remember the horrible taste of these penicillin juices. Chocolate flavour was the worst. In the end, my tonsils were removed and at least that suffering came to an end. As a teenager and young woman, I was constantly plagued with bladder infections, so what was the solution? Yes, exactly - antibiotics. Now I know that a healthy intestinal flora is important to protect against bladder infections. But the antibiotics kept destroying it. So I found myself in a vicious circle. Then, in my early 20s, I had gastritis, which was treated how? Oh yes, there were antibiotics and gastric acid inhibitors, that would certainly help very quickly! That was also the time when the diarrhoea started, until it came to the aforementioned climax.
Not a single "specialist" had the idea of asking me about my eating habits or giving me recommendations about my diet. I was too young, too inexperienced and too gullible to scrutinise everything and look into it more closely.
If an important function such as the intestinal mucosa and the intestinal flora, which are essential for the immune system and general well-being, is destroyed in childhood, it is almost impossible to recover.
I'm fine again now, but I have to be very careful that I and my stomach stay in balance. I am very sensitive to artificial additives and harmful substances in food and could therefore also become a good restaurant critic. If I only have limited opportunities to follow my personal Ayurvedic rules on holiday, for example, I need 2-3 weeks after the holiday to get back into balance. Fortunately, I have learnt to listen to my body and can help myself.
My naturopath as well as my Ayurvedic and TCM doctors have all commented that my digestive system has been irreparably damaged and that I have only managed to maintain my health through my iron discipline and my diet. It's always a matter of sticking with it and I consider myself lucky that I have the time and space to cook for myself every day.
Psychische Ursachen
Natürlich hatten die Ärzte nicht ganz Unrecht, eine psychische Ursache zu vermuten. Alles ist miteinander verbunden und jede Ursache hat ihre Wirkung. Meine Sensitivität (die mir damals noch nicht so bewusst war), mein Leistungswillen und Zielstrebigkeit haben ihres dazugetan und die Situation verschlimmert. Ich habe bis zu 70 Stunden in der Woche gearbeitet, nebenbei noch Gesang studiert, mein Versicherungsstudium absolviert und Konzerte gegeben. Wenn ich jetzt daran zurückdenke habe ich keine Ahnung, wie ich das geschafft habe. Und schon haben wir wieder den besagten Teufelskreis. Durch die körperlichen Beschwerden wird natürlich auch die Psyche gedämpft, die hohe Arbeitsbelastung verstärkt die Symptome, die Leistungsfähigkeit sinkt und das sich Abarbeiten verstärkt sich.
Mental causes
The WHO definition of health is as follows: "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."
If a person really achieves this, he is an enlightened being!
Illnesses are there to help us develop as human beings. They are given to us to help us grow. Behind every illness is a memory, a trauma, a cause in the soul. The body is the messenger of the soul, which asks us to look at ourselves and redeem the old. This can best be seen in young children. When children go through illnesses, such as high fever, this usually results in a developmental spurt. Teething in children is painful, but important for further development.
In my case, this path of suffering helped me to find myself. It has led me to learn about these wonderful ancient wisdoms such as Aryuveda, traditional Chinese medicine, naturopathy, shamanism, etc. It has awakened an unexpected potential and gift in me that I could never have imagined. He has awakened an unexpected potential and gift in me that I could never have imagined. He taught me to appreciate my gifts and to recognise my true being.
Countering food intolerance
Bei der erweiterten Blutuntersuchung wurden über 20 Lebensmittel identifiziert, auf die ich unverträglich reagierte. Neben dem Aufbau der Darmflor und Stärkung des Immunsystems wurden folgende Maßnahmen eingeleitet.
Weglassen der unverträglichen Lebensmittel
At first, this was a difficult endeavour for me. However, one of my strengths is "willpower" and discipline. My strong will was to improve my state of health, because I didn't want to spend my life like this.
So I looked into what alternatives there were to the foods I couldn't tolerate. The most difficult issue at the beginning was cow's milk. As I have always enjoyed cooking and experimenting, I created some very unusual dishes at the time and it didn't take long for me to find a good rhythm. As a manager with a heavy workload and business trips, it wasn't always easy to juggle everything.
For restaurants and hotels, I drew up a food list containing all the foods that I could not tolerate. I informed hotels before I travelled and the staff were also informed in advance when I made restaurant reservations. I experienced the most incredible stories. Very often it didn't work and an unpleasant trip to the toilet was inevitable. It was embarrassing, especially when you're in the middle of a working lunch or you're supposed to give a presentation afterwards, but your stomach is boogie woogieing and you're praying fervently that you don't have to interrupt the presentation to rush to the toilet.
However, I was determined and kept it up for 4 years.
Rotational diet
After 4 years, I started to slowly reintroduce the incompatible foods. A rotation diet works as follows:
- You eat a food (e.g. carrot)
- After 4 days you eat the next food (e.g. black pepper)
- Wait another 4 days, eat the next food (e.g. paprika powder)
- etc.
This rotation gives the body time to process the intolerable food before it receives the next "stimulus".
I still do this rotation, but it happens unconsciously and was also taught to me in Ayurveda. I avoid using the same ingredients for several days in a row. Thanks to my creativity, new dishes are created every day. The disadvantage is that I usually don't remember how I cooked what. That's why I've started writing down recipes. You can find some of them in my Recipe overview.
Enjoy without fear
Thanks to these measures, I can finally enjoy everything again without fear. I still have to be careful with cow's milk products, but now and again even these are no problem.
However, I am very sensitive to artificial additives such as glutamate and colourings. As I pay attention to the quality of the products I eat and grow my own vegetables, my body reacts immediately to non-natural ingredients. It manifests itself with severe stomach cramps that prevent me from breathing, followed by diarrhoea. I get the stomach cramps under control with chewed cardamom capsules, the diarrhoea is welcome to get rid of the harmful substances.
I now have a list of restaurants that I can safely eat at and those that I avoid.
Ayurveda and digestive fire
After I started studying Ayurveda and especially during my Ayurveda training, I realised a lot. I was able to identify other problems in my diet and find solutions to them.
Even if you think you're eating a healthy diet, it doesn't mean that it's really right for your body.
Almost every day you can find some other dietary trend on the internet that claims to be the healthiest and best thing ever! What is always forgotten is that every person is different and so are their physical and mental needs. Food also has an important influence on our mental state. You can read more about this in this article .
Ayurveda gives us the knowledge about the right balance of body, soul and spirit. It is about bringing us into balance with a diet that is customised for us. The digestive fire is crucial for this, our inner fire must be ignited. Depending on our constitution, the fire burns stronger or weaker.
With food intolerances, it is usually the case that the digestive fire is too weak, but sometimes it can also be far too strong and lead to an overshoot. If the digestive fire burns well and normally, food intolerances can also be a thing of the past.
You can find out more about Ayurveda, its constitutions and how it works here.
Your experiences
Do you also have problems with your digestive system? Do you have strange symptoms that can't be explained? Do you feel tired, exhausted and unmotivated after eating? Share your experiences in the comments or contact me directly using the contact form. I look forward to every message!
Individual support
If you would like to enjoy your food again without any worries or if you would like to look for the causes of your symptoms, discomfort or illnesses, please make an appointment with me. I look forward to supporting you in your personal development with a concept tailored to you.
