Has anyone successfully healed a leaky gut or improved their food intolerances?

[periwinkle 88]

If so, what did you do?  How did you determine your gut was healed? Were you able to clear up any of your food intolerances?  How long did it take?  

I have read several of the old threads on healing the gut protocols, but would love to hear of some success stories.  

My gut has been damaged from years of undiagnosed low hydrochloric acid, candida (which was diagnosed, but I couldn't ever completely tame because of the lack of stomach acid), and multiple food intolerances.  I am feeling more and more desperate as I seem to lose more foods I can tolerate, especially vegetables.  I am very limited in what I can eat at this point. 

I just did the Metametrix GI effects test, and am waiting on results.  I have been taking glutamine, slippery elm, and marshmallow root for a few months, and more recently just added gamma oryzanol.  I take a lot of probiotics.  I was drinking goat kefir, but my doctor suggested I should avoid it for a while to see if it helps with gut healing, or to see if it was contributing to a lingering candida problem because of the natural sugars in the milk. (I do think that the hydrochloric acid with betaine that I take has really helped to get rid of the majority of my candida.  My symptoms are finally gone after many years.) I recently started applying glutathione cream (I have autoimmune issues also). I'm also drinking bone broth daily, or almost daily.  

My kids also have food intolerances, and I'm working on healing them too.  

Thanks for sharing!  

[moss]

i think that adding the foods back in that caused the damage in the first place is only going to lead to problems.  maybe not immediately, but eventually.

[mistymorning]

I am becoming sensitive to more and more foods as well. 

This spring, after over a year of being on a very strict Candida diet (maybe "cheating" once every two months or so), I thought I was really healing, and started trying to introduce new foods over the summer.  I've had nothing but failure, and actually seem to be worse off and even more sensitive to previously safe foods.  So I agree with the PP about reintroducing foods.  Obviously it was too soon.  So I started the GAPS diet about two weeks ago, and haven't noticed any improvements yet. 

I am wondering the answers to your questions as well, particularly for those on the GAPS diet-how long were you on it?  Did you ever "cheat" (I'm talking occasionally)?  I am so tired of eating such a limited variety and really would like to see an end in sight.  Can anyone else shed some hopefulness?

[mylilmonkeys]

Originally Posted by periwinkle 88 
  

 I was drinking goat kefir, but my doctor suggested I should avoid it for a while to see if it helps with gut healing, or to see if it was contributing to a lingering candida problem because of the natural sugars in the milk.

I did milk kefir for awhile, despite my known dairy issues, and I think it was because of the dairy that I didn't see any results.  I've just learned about water kefir and ordered some yesterday, hoping that will be the answer for repopulating my gut for me.  I've just started on my own healing the gut journey so I can't answer your questions, but wanted to suggest water kefir for your investigation if, like me, you'd never heard of it.  

Also, subbing to this thread as I'm wondering the same things!

[periwinkle 88]

I'll have to look into water kefir again.  I had tried making coconut water kefir last year, but it seemed too sweet to me.  I probably didn't make it correctly.