Do you sometimes feel like a human guinea pig?
Perhaps you’ve even experimented with different foods, in an effort to figure out what might be a trigger for you.
Let me preface this first by saying – if you have Celiac disease, or an Autoimmune condition, this is in NO WAY a license to re-introduce gluten!
Got that?
However, your dietary triggers could also be dairy, eggs, or nuts – or any number of different foods.
Let’s take a closer look at eggs for a moment.
Are eggs a regular part of your diet?
They use to be for me, too.
I often enjoyed scrambled eggs, or an omelet for breakfast.
And I absolutely LOVED making soufflé! (As fancy as that sounds, it’s not that hard. Seriously!)
At this point, however, it’s literally been years since I last ate eggs.
In recent weeks, however, I decided to re-introduce them – as a human experiment, if you will.
Using me as the guinea pig.
The reason for my little experiment was to find out what – if anything – had changed in my body, due to my year-long effort at improving my digestion and thwarting the effects of a leaky gut (aka intestinal permeability).
I gave myself a couple of weeks before deciding on a verdict, and – just to be clear – this did NOT mean eating eggs every day. (Although certain Elimination Diet protocols encourage that exact approach).
In my case, I spaced them out and allowed at least 3 days or more before even attempting to eat another egg. (I might have eaten 3 or 4 eggs total, over a period of several weeks).
This is an important step – and here’s why:
You want to allow enough time to make close observations of any symptoms whatsoever that might crop up in your body.
This is the hardest part, to be sure but also absolutely essential!
It’s also the gist of what’s commonly referred to as an Elimination Diet,, a process where you intentionally remove specific foods and record your observations over a number of weeks. (For more on this, I recommend “The Elimination Diet” by Tom Malterre.)
So, how did I fair?
In all honesty, I’m not entirely sure if eggs are still a problem for me or not.
Yes, I noticed symptoms – but were they triggered by my diet or something else?
And, even though I mentally embraced the idea of expanding my dietary choices – I’m not convinced that my body sees things quite the same way.
What does that mean, exactly?
It means that my body’s immune system doesn’t recognize eggs as a “safe” food, and instead sees only a “foreign substance” that needs to be dealt with appropriately.
And what that means – from the perspective of your immune system – is to attack and obliterate the offender.
Your immune system does this by releasing antibodies. (Antibodies, by the way, are often described as your immune system’s “chemical bullets”).
What did that feel like for me, on the receiving end?
In terms of noticeable symptoms, it meant the occasional headache.
Also, my joints felt a bit out of whack – especially an old knee injury that was acting up more than usual.
At times, I also experienced intense fatigue to the point I could barely function for the remainder of the day.
My body was definitely talking to me! (You can be sure I’m paying close attention. Translation: no more eggs*, for the time being).
What will this mean for you, should you decide to re-introduce certain foods into your diet?
Everyone is different, of course, so your symptoms will likely be far different from mine.
You might experience intense digestive discomfort, joint pain, a rash, or tingling in your extremities.
It’s hard to say. (There are literally hundreds of possible symptoms).
WARNING: Again, if you have Celiac disease, or an Autoimmune condition, this is in no way a license to re-introduce gluten! (For various reasons, this is one offender that – once it’s out of your diet – you’ll want to keep it out.)
More to the point, your body CAN heal.
It likely won’t happen overnight.
It could even take months – or years – to heal a leaky gut and undo the damage.
But it CAN be done.
Your body is resilient.
It’s beautifully designed to take you through this life, and to respond exquisitely to the care you offer to it.
It’s only when you disregard what your body is trying to tell you – and get caught up in what everyone else is doing, or the latest diet that certain experts are proclaiming you MUST do – that the problems begin.
Because in doing so, you’re ignoring that part of you that is unique and different from everyone else.
If, on top of this, you’re also denying your body the sleep it needs, the rest and down time, and relief from the daily onslaught of environmental toxins – that’s asking a lot of your precious self.
If all this seems a bit overwhelming, and you’re feeling unsure of what’s safe for you, and what isn’t – no worries.
Why not consider reaching out to someone who can:
- Be part of your team
- Provide the support you need
- Understand what you’re going through (Yes – I’ve been there myself)
And lastly, if your body is indeed talking to you – with all those little aches and pains and nagging symptoms – by all means LISTEN.
Trust me – it’s actually a really good thing!
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