Let’s get better together: How I use food to feel better
Hi! I’m Caroline, a certified Health Coach and Yoga Instructor, living with Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency and hEDS. Welcome to the space where I share what has helped me feel better. I’m glad you’re here and hope this helps you feel better too. Today’s post is all about how I’ve used food as a healing tool. As Hippocrates said, “Let food be thy medicine.”
My relationship with food wasn’t always healthy. I struggled with disordered eating and body image issues most of my life. It wasn’t until I started getting super sick that I also started working on my relationship with food and my body. As I paid more attention to what felt good for my body and what felt terrible for my body, I developed a way of eating that felt right for me and helped me stay healthy. I don’t follow a strict diet but I do combine aspects of anti-inflammatory, autoimmune protocol and paleo diets. I like a system over a diet. Let’s break down the structure of an eating to feel better system.
#1: Identify your goal.
My goals were to eliminate inflammation in my gut, rebuild my gut microbiome and improve brain health/mental health. I wanted to eliminate symptoms of IBS, EPI, Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis.
What are your goals in nourishing your body?
#2: Research the foods that will help you achieve your goal.
I looked at anti-inflammatory foods like ginger, turmeric, salmon, berries, and leafy greens. I learned about probiotics and prebiotic fiber and what foods can harm my microbiome. Things like sugar, alcohol, caffeine, refined carbohydrates, and fried foods can disrupt the bacterial balance in the gut. For my brain I started getting more fat from things like coconut, avocado, nuts and seeds, and omega-3 rich fish.
What foods will help you achieve your goals?
#3: Start trying to incorporate these foods into your meals.
I noticed that when I added these foods into my meals, I felt more satisfied, more grounded, and less sick. The shift in my mindset to nourishing and fueling my body instead of mindlessly eating helped me feel more in control of my health too.
How are you feeling as you add in more of what helps you feel better?
#4: Stick with the foods that you enjoy and that make you feel good.
Not everything that says it will help, will actually help. Because my gut health was so poor for so long, I struggled to digest high fiber foods like beans and vegetables. I had to eliminate cruciferous veggies and legumes for a long time and had periods where I had to limit them once I could add them back in. I also went through periods where I couldn’t eat raw vegetables and certain cooked vegetables upset my stomach. Notice what doesn’t agree with you and set aside to come back to once your gut has rebalanced and strengthened. As with any system, stick with what works and set the rest aside.
Which of these new foods are making you feel good?
#5: Research the foods that will derail your goal.
Part of my research was getting food allergy testing and looking up which foods cause inflammation, destroy gut health and cause cognitive dysfunction. Food allergy testing helped me find out which specific things were hurting me. Wheat, dairy, eggs, and sesame were my main issues(I love sesame, wheat and eggs so it’s been hard to live without those) Alcohol, sugar, caffeine, preservatives and food dyes are also disruptive to my wellbeing.
What research do you need to do to prevent derailing your goals?
#6: Notice how you feel after eating these foods.
Sometimes this part can be hard. You might not immediately notice anything after eating the harmful foods. Let’s breakdown what to look out for: immediately after eating look for signs of a true allergy-nausea, swelling, dizziness, congestion, itching, rashes, redness- can all mean you’re allergic to what you ate, over the next few hours notice if you have cramping, gas, bloating, discomfort which are all signs of a sensitivity or poorly digesting the food, at night notice if you feel wired/anxious/unable to sleep this can also be a sign something doesn’t agree with you, and in the morning not if you have diarrhea, constipation, foul odor, rashes, congestion, nausea or vomiting.
#7: Begin eliminating the foods that make you feel terrible from your meals.
Once you know what works and what doesn’t, start changing what you eat. Get creative with the foods that make you feel good and forget about the ones that hurt you.
Food is a wonderful way to nourish and heal your body so learn to love what loves you back!
I hope this was helpful and would love to hear from you: connect with me through email at cohelocoaching@gmail.com or on TikTok at @cohelocoaching