The Elemental Diet - Part 1 of 5

As I sit and write this post, I am filled with a mixture of both sadness and excitement.  The Elemental Diet is a very strict and very restrictive eating plan in an attempt to restore gut health.

I have suffered from GI related problems for as long as I can remember.  It started out with infrequent episodes of abdominal pain with accompanied bloating.  I would wonder if it was something I had eaten, and usually within a few days, the symptoms would subside and I would be fine for a couple of weeks.

Then, in September 2017, the symptoms came on but never went away.  It occurred at the same time as Hurricane Irma was set to hit our coastline as a category 5 hurricane.  Although we did not get a direct hit, the stress it placed on the lives of those in threat of the impact was scary enough.  A psychiatrist patient of mine describe the emotional impact as such: "It was like someone was standing with a gun to your head and you hear a gun shot but then nothing actually happens"

Why am I telling you this story and what does it have to do with the Elemental Diet?  Well, I think the stress from that storm was the final straw for my gut.  Since September 2017, there has rarely been a day that I have gone without some kind of pain.  As for bloating, I have not looked under 6 months pregnant for almost 2 years.

My History

My childhood was pretty much perfect.  I grew up in Canada with a loving family.  My parents are still married and my 2 older sisters are near and dear to me.  However, with that being said, I think I was born "worried".  I use to worry about not being the first one out of bed in case I would miss out on something my sisters were doing.  I use to worry about missing a day of school if we were going on a fun family vacation.  I worried about tests, friendships, fitting in...you name it, i worried.  Like I stated earlier, I had no reason to be so concerned since I pretty much grew up in a "Leave it to Beaver" type of family.

Fast forward to my teenage years and the worrying continued.  I played a lot of sports and I think that really helped keep my emotions under control.  Hormone wise, they were somewhat of a mess so at a young age, they put me on birth control to try and keep things regular.  In hind sight, I sometimes wonder if being on birth control for so many years did not help my gut situation.

My GI issues continued through 4 years of University as well as 4 years of Chiropractic College.  I learned a lot about nutrition and decided that I should eliminate wheat and become gluten free.  Did it help?  Initially, I thought so.  If I ended up feeling pain and bloating, I just assumed that gluten had sneaked it's way into my diet.  I decided that gluten was what was causing all my symptoms so resorted to a complete gluten free diet.

My dad once told me to find a place that I would love to live and it would guarantee a successful life.  My husband (he was my boyfriend at the time and we were living in Buffalo, NY) introduced me to Siesta Key, Florida, on a vacation, and I fell in love.

Hearing my dad's word's of wisdom, when we got back to Buffalo, I literally packed up all my belongings (they all fit in my Honda Civic), including my golden retriever and headed down to the Sunshine State to open my own chiropractic clinic.

Why am I telling you all this?  Well, if moving thousands of miles away from your family, friends and boyfriend is not stressful enough, try starting a new business in a town where NO ONE knows your name.  Yes... more stress.

Luckily, my boyfriend became my husband and the town where no one knew my name now knows me as Dr. Cat.  I have an amazing husband, have family that love to come a visit to get out of the cold, a great office with wonderful staff AND I live 1 mile from what Dr. Sands has proclaimed the "#1 Beach in the USA".  Life is good, right?  It absolutely is and I have truly hit a spot in my life where I can honestly say, I am no longer the "worried" person I once was.

What does that have to do with my stomach?  Years of stress created years of GI distress and even though I am in a great place now, I believe that the damage was done and now only extreme measures will help my situation.

What is an Elemental Diet

Elemental diet powders are comprised of components already in their simplest digestible or "elemental" forms - giving the gastrointestinal system a rest and avoiding issues with digestion, absorption, allergens, and other residues that are created through the process of digestion.

After a person's energy requirements are identified, 150-200 calorie shakes are divided throughout the day every 2-3 hours. It is best to sip the elemental powder drink over 15-30 minutes to limit feelings of hunger and reduce the potential for diarrhea from high intake of fluids in too short of a time period.

Typically a person drinks an elemental powder shake as their exclusive source of calories for up to 14 days; sometimes longer periods are necessary. Calorie needs are calculated based on body size and basal metabolic rate. The amount of shakes needed to meet caloric requirements will differ person by person.

Because the elemental compounds are absorbed so readily, there is nothing for bacteria to "feed on" later in the GI tract, which helps rid the gut of unwanted organisms.

Elemental diets are conventionally used to promote remission for Crohn's disease, and replenish nutrient deficiencies in inflammatory gut disorders.

Increasingly, elemental diets are being recognized for their ability to support the re-balancing of gut flora.

Why am I doing a 30 day Elemental Diet

Recently, I switched GI doctors as I was frustrated with my current practitioner who did not seem to really care to get to the root of my issues.  The new doctor ordered a Lactulose breath test and the results came back with a high level of methane dominant SIBO.  Excited about finally getting some answers, but at the same time, sad due to the lack of "cures" for this condition.

Antibiotics are usually the first line of treatment but I had already done a course with no changes in my symptoms.  It turns out that the antibiotics I took are only 30-50% effective and are for hydrogen dominant SIBO and not methane dominant SIBO.  That explains my lack of relief!

I have also tried numerous eating plans such as low FODMAP, Specific Carbohydrated Diet (SCD), a round of Whole30, nut free, dairy free.... you name it, I have tried it!

So, after talking to my doctor, I really only had two options left:

1. Keep my diet as clean as possible and live with the symptoms and flare ups
2. Do a 30 day Elemental Diet to eliminate the methane SIBO and then continue to eat a clean diet, keep my stress levels as low as possible and add some pro-motility supplements to hopefully never have a recurrence.  The Elemental Diet claims to have an 85% success rate for methane dominant SIBO.

Of course, being that I am always trying to get to the root cause of a problem, I am opting for #2.

So, for the next 30 days, this is my treatment plan:

• drink only the prescribed Elemental Formula
• drink only water or plain coffee and tea
• alternate weeks of natural antibiotics
  • Week A : Biotics Reasearch A.D.P, Dysbiocide and FC-Cidal
  • Week B : Physician's Formula Berebine

After 4 weeks, I will redo a breath test and see if I still have methane dominant SIBO.  I am hoping to see noticeable changes in my bloating as well as discomfort within the first 2-3 weeks.

As for my food blog, I worked all weekend and produced enough recipes for the next 30 days, so don't worry, I am not going MIA!  Each week, to help me hold myself accountable, I will write a blog post on my progress in hopes that maybe I can help someone not suffer for as long as I have!

♥  Cat