bloating, inflammation - immune response or overgrowth issue?

[BabySmurf]

Okay, I've been slowly trying to pinpoint a host of food issues that I have.  I think that really what I am fighting is a leaky gut.  My question is about garlic, coconut oil, and other natural antifungal type foods...does it cause bloating in anyone else? Is this a food I should be avoiding, or does the bloating/inflammation I am experiencing mean that it is fighting off some nasties in my gut?

I had an IgG test run (coconut oil wasn't on there), and garlic came back with sky high numbers.  When I eat it, my stomach bloats out to a belly that literally looks like I am six months pregnant.  It's hard as a rock, and then I get the winds something awful.  Same thing with the coconut oil.  When I had an IgE test, garlic came up negative for an allergy. 

I don't have other allergic type issues (I don't think) when I eat these foods.  I do have trouble with the classic foods that are hard to digest though (dairy, gluten, etc), but I think that these are issues that have more to do with my taxed system than an allergy.

When I take a probiotic, I have horrible die off symptoms; so bad that I stopped taking them because I am nursing my son, and he was starting to look pretty bad.  I don't have classic die off symptoms with the garlic/coconut, so I am curious if this is a good way to start my detox, or if the inflammation is a sign of something else?

Any insight is appreciated! I am seeing these same or similar issues in my son, so I would really like to clear up what the problem is so that I can take care of him as well. 

[BabySmurf]

So, I figured that I would update in case this was relevent to anyone else:

I had been wondering about IgG allergies vs yeast overgrowth, since I found it notable that my biggest offenders seemed to be things that should be beneficial for me to eat. The most notable being garlic, which caused me severe bloating and discomfort. I cut dairy because that foris suspect for my son, and was using coconut oil in it's place for cooking. It also caused bloating and severe discomfort, also an antifungal!
At this point I have also been tring to cut out sugars,grains as well. After about a week of eating a good amount of the coconut oil, the symptoms have been subsiding, so I tried. Adding garlic back, and...no reaction! So it would appear that I really do have a bad yeast problem that I have passed on to my son. Oddly enough. My mother and grandmother both have the same reaction to the garlic, so this is generations in the making!
I also feel SO much better and happier...hooray for beginning to tame this yeast beast!

[heatherdeg]

Wow... hallelujah!  For future reference, getting some activated charcoal can help with the die-off symptoms.  Also, Young Living makes something called "Inner Defense" which is a capsule of 5 different oregano oil plus Thieves blend but 1) not sure how your milk might change taste with the oregano (it's very strong) and 2) you HAVE to take probiotics afterward--so if you cannot yet tolerate them, you can't take it.

Sugars, starches, grains and fruits out of your diet is a huge help.

[BabySmurf]

Originally Posted by heatherdeg 

Wow... hallelujah!  For future reference, getting some activated charcoal can help with the die-off symptoms.  Also, Young Living makes something called "Inner Defense" which is a capsule of 5 different oregano oil plus Thieves blend but 1) not sure how your milk might change taste with the oregano (it's very strong) and 2) you HAVE to take probiotics afterward--so if you cannot yet tolerate them, you can't take it.

Sugars, starches, grains and fruits out of your diet is a huge help.

Thanks for the info! I'm still new looking into this - there is SO much info to wade through. I have cut out most of the starchy, sugary foods and most grains, but it really takes some planning to change habbits. My next big challenge is getting my husband on board, since I think he thinks I am a bit crazy. Now that I am less reactive and cut my sugar intake } am going to try taking a small amount of probiotic to see how I handle that. I am also making a couple batches of sauerkraut and looking into kefir, yogurt, and other cultured foods. Now that I feel like I am moving in. The right direction, it seems a lot more doable. :-)

[sbgrace]

I'm glad you're doing better!

[heatherdeg]

Go slow on the fermented foods.  They can give you a KILLER of a headache in reaction.  Ease into them.  But yeah--there's a lot of info "out there".  Your husband is just like most people are: if it ain't obviously and painfully broke, do I really need to fix it?  Especially where eating is concerned.  It's a huge source of comfort--even if the only comfort is "I totally know how to handle this--I know what I can feed myself".  :/

[BabySmurf]

Originally Posted by heatherdeg 

Go slow on the fermented foods.  They can give you a KILLER of a headache in reaction.  Ease into them.  But yeah--there's a lot of info "out there".  Your husband is just like most people are: if it ain't obviously and painfully broke, do I really need to fix it?  Especially where eating is concerned.  It's a huge source of comfort--even if the only comfort is "I totally know how to handle this--I know what I can feed myself".  :/

Thanks - I will definitely go slow with those.  Slow and steady seems to be the right way to break into this change, for sure.  With my husband, I know if I try to push him too hard he will resist.  I'm pretty confident that as time goes on he will make the choice on his own terms, which would be ideal anyway - this is not something that will be successful unless it is his choice.  I think that since I have hit a few dead ends and had a few "relapses" into old habits that he is skeptical of the entire process.  He is starting to notice the changes in me though, so hopefully he will make the choice sooner rather than later!! That way he will be more apt to help me pack food for outings rather than relying on take out ;) 

[BabySmurf]

just updating again for anyone else with these severe die off type symptoms....

i tried making some fruit kvass (came out awesome!!!) because that is supposed to be very gentle and detoxifying, and still had some pretty obvious die of symptoms. I didn't do the beets because i had tried that before, but it made me sick at that point, and i lost my taste for it....it is definitely something i will try again though.  just not yet.  I felt bloated, junky and tired, and got a pretty good head ache.  Also, for some strange reason, my mouth felt like i had gargled with hydrogen peroxide.  very strange.  it only lasted a day though; when i woke up i felt much better.  i drank some more the next night, and woke up feeling fine.  yay! time to increase the dose a bit more.  oh yeah, i started with about 2 oz, which i watered down.  It was really hard to stick to that, since it tasted so good though.  i'm daydreaming about the time when i can leisurely sip a full glass! (i used the recipe from the GAPS book, which is an apple, raspberries, and a bit of ginger).

can't wait to dig into my sauerkraut (slowly but surely), which should be done pretty soon!