Wellness Wednesday – Healing our guts!

10 May Wellness Wednesday – Healing our guts!

After many years of antibiotic abuse because of misdiagnosed PFAPA treatment my kiddos systems were out of balance to say the least.

Some of my kiddos ended up having food sensitivities and allergies and I believe a leaky gut contributed to it from antibiotic overuse. 

Leaky gut is when the intestines have experienced micro abrasions or damage to the lining that allows small particles of undigested food, bacteria or waste to leak through the lining and into the blood stream.

Once the food particles come into direct contact with our blood a reaction occurs in our system that is similar to an autoimmune response.

This can lead to chronic inflammation, food allergies, headaches, irritable bowel, chronic fatigue, eczema and more. 

One of my kids who would like to remain nameless 😉 was on a long, high dose of antibiotics (1.5 months) until they were scheduled to have their tonsils and adenoids removed. 

I think this child may have had some simple sensitivity before treatment but after taking years of antibiotics, before the long dose, they became sensitive to a long list of foods. Such as; red dye, coconut, soy, all nuts, all citrus, all grains and any fruit that contained a seed etc.

Red dye caused them the most amount of trouble with severe stomach cramps and irritable bowel. We happen to come in contact with a child by accident that had this allergy, and it was an answer to our prayers. I had never heard of it before until a child visiting in one of our church classes declined some skittles we were handing out because they were allergic to the red dye and it was like a light bulb went on for me.

That was the biggest culprit in my child’s diet, causing the most grief. Once we elliminated all red dye (and nuts!) life improved immensely! 

We have done elimination diets and we have added in probiotics on a daily use on a rotating schedule. 

I believe probiotics are a simple necessity for my kiddos and make a huge difference for their immune systems, bowels and overall health.

We have tried many kinds ranging from super expensive to super cheap. We have had gummies, pills and powders, and fresh refrigerated liquids, gels and yogurts.

So, here’s my two cents on probiotics…

TAKE THEM!! 🙂

Probiotics at Amazon

*Every time you take an antibiotic, in between antibiotic doses and for at least a week or two after depending on how your system responds.

*When you aren’t feeling well, or are under stress and your system is run down.

*Rotate brands, I’ve found with almost everything we take at our house we have to rotate the brands or our bodies become used to the ingredients and stop working. This is true with our allergy medicines and other herbal remedies as well.

*Liquid is the grossest and most potent and can cause diarrhea or yeast die off symptoms which can mimic the flu.

*Yogurt is the tastiest but most inconvenient on the run

*Gummies are great but really expensive and not the most powerful but are a great every day option especially for kids.

*Pills are powerful for kids and so I usually will break them open to put half of a capsule onto/into food twice during the day otherwise they end up with stomach cramps.

Probiotics at Amazon

Take care of your system, protect it from antibiotics if you can but take them when necessary so you don’t have an overabundance of bad bacteria in your system causing many other health problems. 

Eliminate foods that are irritating to your bowels to give your system a much-needed break.

I know this can be difficult! Especially for kids!

No one likes missing out or feeling different or excluded from what everyone else is doing. Especially when there are several if not many foods that are causing you problems. However, if you can, even for a short period to heal your intestinal lining, then slowly add the offending foods back in in short amounts to see what you can handle.

My child with the nut allergy has outgrown their soy allergy and can tolerate and really likes this nut butter alternative if you’re looking for something like that.

It keeps this child from feeling different or left out when we do simple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It has been a lifesaver when they need to take brown bag lunches on field trips that can’t be refrigerated or sent with an ice pack.

Our “guts” are like our second brains and we need to treat them as such. Nourish them and keep them healthy with probiotics, good natural food as best as you can for optimal health.

Have a wonderful day!

XOXO,

The Wildflower