Taking Health into My Own Hands
So the acupuncture only started working for ~2 days at a time. It was not sustainable.
In 2007 I earned a bachelors degree in Biological Systems Engineering, but was never able to explain WTF it entailed because I always saw it as a jack-of-all-trades and master-of-none type of education that I received. But, I always did know that a background in engineering encouraged me to think outside of the box and take things into my own hands.
Fast forward to 2012 when I travel to Brazil and do what I love to do - explore culture through exploration of places and through food. I like to get immersed. I came home and after about a year of stool bacterial and viral tests, blood tests, and a colonoscopy, I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Conventional medicine doctors have no clue what it is. The way it is diagnosed is that they rule everything else out (e.g. parasitic or other infections, Celiac disease, etc.) and once they run out of tests, IBS is the catch all diagnosis.
Over the next years, I cannot digest the same foods as before. And I love to eat everything and try everything. It was heartbreaking and physically painful as I am bloated and have diarrhea nearly everyday. I also don’t have the same optimistic and bright sense of self and being as before. Through the years I’ve worked with many conventional primary care doctors, gastroenterologists, cardiologists, an acupuncturist... I’ve tried antibiotics, antidepressants, meditation, exercise, a fecal microbiota transplant, triggering the gut brain axis, dieting with the low FODMAP diet (which does help to reduce symptoms)... But nothing has got to the root cause. My intuition is that there was a way, but I hadn’t found it yet.
I’ve exhausted conventional and even some Eastern medicine. I’m back at the drawing board and diving into functional (also called integrated) medicine. And it’s making a lot of sense to me and reminding me that our bodies are biological systems where everything is connected. The phrase “you are what you eat” has taken on a new meaning for me and I’m taking it to heart. As a biological system, we require a stable environment (oxygen, temperature), good mental state, good physical state, and proper nutrients. Functional medicine does not focus on symptoms and silos. Rather, it takes a holistic systemic approach. Everything is connected. The one factor of my biological system that’s out of whack is really nutrition.
I’m changing the way I eat and the way I view food.
Since my microbiome is imbalanced, I do have to reset and rebalance it (the microorganisms like bacteria and fungi). The first phase is to “kill” or discourage the “bad” bacteria from growing out of control in my gut. To do so, I starve it of sugar including sugars from dairy, gluten, and fruits. At the same time, I want to encourage re-population of the microbiome with good nutrients from vegetables, nuts, seeds, fish, and some meat. Staying on a low FODMAP diet helps reduce IBS symptoms such as bloating and diarrhea. This promotes growth of “good” bacteria. Supplements can also help. The second phase is to slowly reintroduce some higher FODMAPs back. I do miss foods like avocados, garlic, pomegranate, and apples... The last phase is to sustain my microbiome in good health which will keep me in good health.
I've never been so interested in gut health until now. I've been listening to so many functional medicine doctors, their podcasts, and doing my own research since no one will fix this but me. It feels like the biohacking is coming full circle. If I could perform my own tests and see my own results, I totally would do it. I hate our current healthcare system. I have spent at least $1000 out-of-pocket in the last few months just for one functional medicine doctor visit and for a few tests. I digress... I have the momentum and interest to fix this and I will do what I need to.
In 2007 I earned a bachelors degree in Biological Systems Engineering, but was never able to explain WTF it entailed because I always saw it as a jack-of-all-trades and master-of-none type of education that I received. But, I always did know that a background in engineering encouraged me to think outside of the box and take things into my own hands.
Fast forward to 2012 when I travel to Brazil and do what I love to do - explore culture through exploration of places and through food. I like to get immersed. I came home and after about a year of stool bacterial and viral tests, blood tests, and a colonoscopy, I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Conventional medicine doctors have no clue what it is. The way it is diagnosed is that they rule everything else out (e.g. parasitic or other infections, Celiac disease, etc.) and once they run out of tests, IBS is the catch all diagnosis.
Over the next years, I cannot digest the same foods as before. And I love to eat everything and try everything. It was heartbreaking and physically painful as I am bloated and have diarrhea nearly everyday. I also don’t have the same optimistic and bright sense of self and being as before. Through the years I’ve worked with many conventional primary care doctors, gastroenterologists, cardiologists, an acupuncturist... I’ve tried antibiotics, antidepressants, meditation, exercise, a fecal microbiota transplant, triggering the gut brain axis, dieting with the low FODMAP diet (which does help to reduce symptoms)... But nothing has got to the root cause. My intuition is that there was a way, but I hadn’t found it yet.
I’ve exhausted conventional and even some Eastern medicine. I’m back at the drawing board and diving into functional (also called integrated) medicine. And it’s making a lot of sense to me and reminding me that our bodies are biological systems where everything is connected. The phrase “you are what you eat” has taken on a new meaning for me and I’m taking it to heart. As a biological system, we require a stable environment (oxygen, temperature), good mental state, good physical state, and proper nutrients. Functional medicine does not focus on symptoms and silos. Rather, it takes a holistic systemic approach. Everything is connected. The one factor of my biological system that’s out of whack is really nutrition.
I’m changing the way I eat and the way I view food.
Since my microbiome is imbalanced, I do have to reset and rebalance it (the microorganisms like bacteria and fungi). The first phase is to “kill” or discourage the “bad” bacteria from growing out of control in my gut. To do so, I starve it of sugar including sugars from dairy, gluten, and fruits. At the same time, I want to encourage re-population of the microbiome with good nutrients from vegetables, nuts, seeds, fish, and some meat. Staying on a low FODMAP diet helps reduce IBS symptoms such as bloating and diarrhea. This promotes growth of “good” bacteria. Supplements can also help. The second phase is to slowly reintroduce some higher FODMAPs back. I do miss foods like avocados, garlic, pomegranate, and apples... The last phase is to sustain my microbiome in good health which will keep me in good health.
I've never been so interested in gut health until now. I've been listening to so many functional medicine doctors, their podcasts, and doing my own research since no one will fix this but me. It feels like the biohacking is coming full circle. If I could perform my own tests and see my own results, I totally would do it. I hate our current healthcare system. I have spent at least $1000 out-of-pocket in the last few months just for one functional medicine doctor visit and for a few tests. I digress... I have the momentum and interest to fix this and I will do what I need to.
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