So, this rare old disease is back causing problems in my esophagus, giving me issues swallowing, breathing and talking like normal one minute and like Marge Simpson after breathing in a helium balloon the next! Mercifully at present it has not reached further down the esophagus (deciding to take a little detour sideways into my lungs - hence the breathing issues) but this does mean that if I can swallow it down OK, food is not getting blocked like last time. So that’s good :) As I start the next course of treatment to try and kill the activity I have been switching back to foods that I feel my body can deal with more easily.
Although there is no conclusive evidence that food and diet changes will help the condition, just the treatment plan which has it own rather unpleasant side effects, I still like to explore all options. I have long believed in a PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) to things and believe that anything we can do holistically in support of the treatment we receive for things (if it works for us) then that’s all good too.
Anyone that knows me as a Personal Trainer will know that I am strictly against the word DIET as I believe that we should eat, regularly, a variety of foods from a variety of sources and tailor to our own body, metabolic rate and how it makes us feel. Food should be a great joy and you really appreciate what a joy it is when you can’t have it… believe me! In fact, I could write a whole blog post on dieting (maybe several!) but I’ll save that for another rainy day.
I found last year, when my eating was severely restricted, that there were certain changes to my diet that helped me get through it. There were times when all I could manage successfully were a few spoons of porridge but on the whole, when I was able, there were two fundamental changes I made that I believed helped, but I adapted to me and how my body felt rather than ‘follow’ the diet.
One, was the KETO approach and the other was reducing the amount of GLUTEN in my diet. This is mainly because both the keto approach and the gluten free approach reduce the effort in the body ‘metabolising’ the sugars, carbohydrates and gluten proteins and therefore I figured anything that gives the body a bit of a break in work meant that it could spend more time fighting the disease. (I’ve always been a logical, rational thinker!! )
In a nutshell, and maybe I’ll talk about it more in depth in another post if anyone is interested, The Keto approach is often referred to as the ‘anti-inflammatory’ diet, but people also use it for weight loss too as it can have that benefit. However, I would say this plateaus out so be mindful of starting it just to lose weight. It works by reducing carbohydrate intake and providing most of your daily intake through fats, proteins and vegetables. … yes FAT! Don’t be scared of fat, we need fat for the effective absorption of key vitamins A,D,E and K. It is the quality and type of fat that we need to look at. This doesn’t give you carte blanche to go running to the biscuit tin!. (again - perhaps another blog post )
Protein, like fat, is another key macronutrient that we need . You can get it from animal and plant based sources and we need a balance of these. Protein will help with muscle growth, tissue growth, cell membranes. But again, we need to look at the type of protein - it doesn’t mean piling up the bacon or Mig Mac’s without the bun!
By reducing the carbohydrate element the Keto approach works on the basis of burning and using what we are taking in rather than storing for later. This state of being is called Ketosis. The theory of carbohydrate consumption is that it is slowly broken down and processed in the body through glycolysis (turning into sugars) which are then stored by the body in case they are needed to be drawn on later through the ‘fight or flight’ response in the body. If they are not used they are then stored as fat. It kind of harps back to when we were running around hiding from dinosaurs, hunting for our own food and living in caves. Because of the high quality of the macro nutrients we are putting into our body , it keeps it lean at the point of ketosis using the fuel efficiently rather than storing or drawing from other areas of the body like muscle tissue etc.
Another area I looked at was gluten. With food getting stuck due to the changes in my esophageal tissue I found anything too substantial was not good for me. However, as a Fitness professional I needed foods like this sometimes. Gluten proteins can be difficult to digest, so once again I felt that anything that was hard to digest (let alone swallow) would cause inflammation in my body and give my body a break to work on fighting the disease.
I personally found as an added bonus that the reduction in gluten helped me generally in feeling less lethargic, bloated and, I guess ‘meh’ in the process. It’s not until you have to start looking at food labels that you realise how much gluten is in foods and therefore how much we are taking in (sometimes without knowing). Interestingly, I found oats did not cause me too much of an issue (hence the porridge! ) - they contain avenin which is a more tolerable gluten protein. The problem with shop bought oat products is that they have often become contaminated with other gluten proteins from the production line.
So, for me, I believe those two elements helped me. But this is where I say any ‘diet’ has to work for you and be adapted to get the best for you. I didn’t cut out all carbs ( I would NEVER recommend that long term). It is a macronutrient that we need, but by reducing my intake I felt it allowed my body to keep going and fighting through a difficult period. I still managed to deliver all of my classes throughout the whole period and through the treatment and I plan (touch wood) to do the same this time. The drugs do their thing, but for me I needed to find adjustments that worked and assisted me in the process.
Diet is like fitness, there is no quick fix and there is no miracle one size fits all approach. It’s about finding what works for you. Oh, and by the way…. The picture accompanying the blog post today is of my Sunday tea time treat. I made it this afternoon. Chocolate and coffee cake - Gluten Free, dairy free and egg free…. Who said anything about going without?….. ; )
#stayalert #staydafe #staywell #stayactive
