Do You Believe This Gut Health Myth?
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There's a lot of good information available about why eating healthy is so important, so why don't a lot of people eat better? You'd think it's common sense that what you eat matters a lot, right?
There are lot of why so many people are not seeing the need to eat healthy, but one reason, I think, is due to the popularity of this healthy eating myth.
Gut health is so crucial to overall health. When your gut isn't doing well due to candida, autoimmune diseases of the gut, or other digestive issues, your overall health will suffer.
In What is Candida? and Why I Went Sugar-Free and 5 Causes of Gut Dysbiosis and My Childhood, I talked about how the following affect gut health…
Things That Negatively Affect Gut Health
1. Insufficient Breastfeeding
2. Fake Food
3. Toxins
4. Stress
5. Antibiotics
and
6. The Pill
Yes, it's true. Birth control pills cause irritation of the gut lining and can set one up for digestive ailments, including leaky gut and even Crohn's Disease. According to US News,
“If you took oral contraceptives for more than five years, you have a threefold increased risk of Crohn's Disease.”
That's a big increase.
Messing With Nature and God Causes Problems
I think the overall lesson here is this. Why mess with a good thing?
Mess with food–and you get problems.
Mess with your hormones–and you get problems.
Mess with too many pharmaceuticals–and you might get problems.
Don't feed your baby naturally–and you get problems.
Now, don't get me wrong–I know that there are some unavoidable circumstances, and we all need grace for making bad decisions, but I think that, overall, we live in an “I want it now” and “I want it easy” society. People want a pill to fix them and they don't want to work hard for things, including their health.
I think God set it up so that we have to work hard for some things and we need to learn to rest and let things work naturally before jumping the gun and getting involved with things that damage our health in the long run.
A Really Bad Gut Health Myth
Now–for the Big Myth About Gut Health.
I always cringe when I hear people say, “I ate Oreos and bologna my whole life and I turned out just fine.“
This typically comes in response to someone saying that it is important to feed kids whole food.
Yes, that adult may have turned out fine.
At least, it seems so.
But another “cau
7. Time
Problems don't always show up right away and they are passed down through generations.
Those Oreos and Ho Ho's may not hurt you, but they will likely affect your children.
My grandparents ate some processed foods, but they had a long family history of eating high quality, whole foods to build on.
Then my parents ate more processed food. A lot more.
New health issues that were different than what their parents had faced started to surface.
Then my generation ate TONS of processed foods. White bread, toaster pastries, boxed crackers.
More and more toxins filled our environment.
Our fast-paced society got even faster.
Folks leaned more and more on antibiotics, and “quick fix” meds.
More health issues started showing up. I had horrible allergies, and later, candida and adrenal fatigue.
Our sons' generation faces a lot more health challenges. Autism, cancer, and auto-immune diseases are rampant.
With each generation, the onslaughts have been greater and greater.
When a mother gives birth, she can only pass on what she has to give. You can't give what you don't have, right?
Moms try to eat healthier when pregnant, right? But you can't reverse years of poor eating in nine months.
And the weaknesses of the mother are passed on to the children.
Natasha Campbell-McBride's book, Gut and Psychology Syndrome, brought this “home” for me. McBride talks about how our weaknesses are passed down through generations and prescribe dietary help.
If you haven't read her book yet, it's a real keeper.
In Summary
I grew up in my mother's weakened womb.
I passed my weaknesses on to my son.
Sadly, I suspect that the next generation is going to be even more ill than this one since we haven't done much to change course.
Candida Course
If you're wanting direction and hope for dealing with candida in an effective way, this Kicking Candida Program is for you.
I've heard nothing but good about this course and I'm going to be taking it myself–and my whole family just might join me. Your coach, Paula Miller, knows what she is talking about and she gives you a lot of support to help you kick candida to the curb.
The course is undergoing some renovations–if you are interested in details please leave a comment and I can direct you to the course owner. Thanks!
What are your thoughts? Have you seen generations worsen in your family?
This post is not meant to diagnose or give medical advice, but is strictly for entertainment. Contact your medical provider before making any changes to your health routine.
I’ve read the first 3 in this series and it seems like you’re just trying to sling product. I love your story and am interested, but it would be nice to see some tips I don’t have to pay for, to get started anyway. I’ll keep searching your blog though – I am sucked in – but some free resources here would be great.
Hi Janine. Thanks for commenting. I would like to know why you think I am just trying to “sling product.” I started writing this just b/c of my history and ended up talking about a book I think is fabulous. What products do you think I am “slinging”? All of the information in the posts are free and I, like many other bloggers, add resources to the posts. That’s called monetizing and it’s how we can keep blogging. They are products that our readers might purchase anyway and this way we can pay for our hosting (which is getting to be a small fortune these days) and other expenses. As my blog grows, it is getting more and more expensive to run and takes more and more time. I would think anyone would agree that my getting paid for the amount of work I spend here is totally understandable.
I am puzzled about your saying “some tips that I don’t have to pay for.” What does that mean? My whole blog is a free resource. As with any blog, if you go off the blog to buy something it isn’t free (except for free resources that I promote). What kind of free resources are you looking for? If you subscribe to my blog and read on Saturday, you will see that every Saturday (or Sunday, occasionally, and of course sometimes I miss) I promote great free Ebooks for my readers.
I sincerely would like to hear what you are thinking. Thanks in advance.
Adrienne, very gracious reply. Thank you so much for your helpful information. You are a blessing:)
Thanks Gwen. That means a lot.
Hi, boy I wish I could invite you over for lunch sometime! We would have a great time talking about tons of things spiritual and health! I agree that gut health is critical to our overall health and will be writing about on my blog in the next few months! I hope you read it and can’t wait to hear your opinions about what I write on how to heal the gut, especially since much of what I will be writing is from the point of view of a Nutritional Microscopist and contradicts a lot of “natural remedy” information out there!
Feel free to send it over – thanks :). So many of my readers would be a blast to hang with :).
Wow, this is news to me! I’ve been taking the Pill for about 13 years now with no break. My doctor has NEVER made any mention of side effects like this. I should have known. I know you can’t give medical advice, but are you aware if it’s safe to stop taking cold turkey? I’m cringing at the thought of taking my daily dose now!
I can’t give advice :). I think, from what I’ve seen on the internet, that it depends on the person. I just talked w/ someone today who went off cold turkey and she said it didn’t bother her at all. I hope to hear back from you. Take care!
It does take patience and time to heal ailments that take years to develop. You are right, we want a quick fix, which isn’t realistic. Support is such an important aspect too. Thanks for sharing on Hearth & Soul Hop. 🙂
Very interesting article! I am going to go back and read all your others. I am coming here from Far Above Rubies linkup.
Welcome!
Excellent post! So, so good! I’ve already Pinned it and I think I’ll be sharing it on FB as well.
(Stopping by via Fight Back Friday!)
Thanks so much!
Hi Adrienne! I was diagnosed with SIBO and was treated with Xifaxan and SCD. The results were amazing! I was the typical child raised in the 80’s on low fat (ie. high sugar) food combined with years of antibiotics to treat acne. By the time I was 30, my gut was a mess. I’ve had some relapses since treatment, but it has allowed me to figure out my triggers (coffee is a big one) and recommit to the SCD for awhile. This article was spot on!
Thanks, Amy! And “Hi!” :). So I am new to the SIBO thing. Is that really rare? I find it interesting that you were w/ a practitioner who recommended a pharmaceutical and a diet that I don’t believe is well-known by mainstream medicine. And do you know what it is about coffee that is a trigger? Is it the stimulant quality by chance? Thanks! We’ve contemplated SCD for my son. We did grain free for awhile but aside from an apparent detox rash, nothing seemed to change. How long was it until you noticed changes? I apologize for all of my questions :).
I believe you pass on what you have to give (so true Adrienne). I feel so blessed my mother ate well and taught us to eat well. I am blessed to be so healthy and have very few issue.
Most of what I deal with are probably from taking the pill when I was younger (I didn’t have a mother or lady figure to talk to so I trusted the doctors:( )and other antibiotics that I didn’t really need like shots ect.
Thanks for sharing Adrienne.
You really are blessed. So you grew up without your mother after a time? That must have been very tough. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Adrienne! I love what you do and am so thankful for all of your posts. I was especially intrigued by this one. I have been on birth control pills for 15+ years. I want to get off them, but my obgyn doesnt want me to. I have migraines (hormone related) and many gut issues. What kind of birth control do you recommend. My obgyn thinks visectomy for my husband is the only option. But he is terrified!!! Please help!
Why doesn’t your OB/GYN want you off them? We used NFP and it was great. This is the book that we used, but it’s a new edition (this is an affiliate link).
I’m healing rheumatoid arthritis through the Gaps Diet, and the multi-generational issue breaks my heart. I had a hard time reading it, because I love my parents so much, and I don’t believe in blaming them for my troubles (mental or physical). However, when I visit my parents, I see their diet with new eyes: so full of sugar and processed foods. I ate that way growing up, but changed when I became an adult. Too late, though. It’s not too surprising that I developed autoimmune disease. It just seems like such a huge task, to convince people that how they eat affects not only their own health, but generations to come. Blogs like yours give me hope, though. Everyone won’t change, but some people will, and their children and grandchildren will be so blessed!
Thanks for sharing, Eileen. I know. It is sooo sad. I try to talk to folks but they mainly won’t listen. But here, some do :).