Issues with WATER?

[Cran3]

Hi everyone! Happy Halloween.

I have something on my mind I wanted to share. When my CC appeared at age 15, I was living in Arizona and never showed any signs of healing despite some diet changes here and there, amongst other factors. (I was a teenager and ate junk, thinking I merely had IBS and there were no risk factors.) But I pretty much just said, "Whatever, I'll eat what I want."

Now that I live in Washington, I eat VERY clean and simple. Most of my meals are the same. I have more normal bowel movements and life is nice. But... this is where my issue comes in. I had been healing over the past few months, and I was able to eat things that I thought had bothered me all along. Raw onions, olive oil, tomatoes, avocado, etc. were able to exist in my diet finally!

Two weeks ago, I took a 9-day vacation to visit family in Arizona. If you know about life in AZ, you'd probably know the water isn't always the best to drink from the faucet. Many people have bottled water or sink filters. In my family's case, I had to drink bottled water. For some reason, I started to have issues again! I flared right up before I even ate a meal! I began to exhibit diarrhea, urgent bathroom trips, and I've even been having nausea as of late, which is new. I carried over my diet from Washington exactly. I still ate all of my normal homemade meals with ingredients from places like Whole Foods. The only factor I could think of was the bottled water. It had ingredients other than just water, too. For example, sodium bicarbonate, magnesium sulfate, potassium chloride... I could go on. (It wasn't just one brand, either.)

It's been rocky getting back to my groove, but I'm back in Washington now and I've been still having watery stool. I'm slowly getting back normal bowel movements again. Has anyone else ever dealt with water issues? I'm certain it's due to additives, but man am I glad I moved to Washington because a lot of things seem safer for me here.

[carolm]

Hi- your story reminds me of a comment my previous GI doc made (she’s one of the few good ones by the way). We were talking about how individualized our issues can be and she said her husband has issues with water- tap water and even certain bottled waters. When they travel he has to take a brand of water he can tolerate because it’s likely the tap water will set off his gut issues.

So while it’s not common, it’s not out of the question or completely unheard of. Like you’ve illuded to- there can be chemical additives that are an irritant for you. I’m glad you are bouncing back from that setback okay.

Best wishes,
Carol

[Gabes-Apg]

In the early stages of healing I would react to a change of water.

A change of routine would also be a trigger.

For things like travel I would increase Vit D3 intake etc to help body cope with increased inflammation etc.

[dolson]

In Peru, I talked to a Shaman who informed me in America, Australia and England that everything is too clean. He said that's why we have so many auto-immune diseases. We visited a Peruvian home where they eat Guinea Pigs. They have their own pigs in an enclosure. They eat clay with potatoes and it's healthy. The clay had plenty of calcium and magnesium. I tried it and was delicious! They showed us what they ate. All sorts of food they grow in the back of their humble homes. They had their own well where they obtain their own water. They could drink it but we could not. They had no bread and no wheat food. They had many llamas and the children took care of the baby llamas. I don't know if they drank milk. I don't know if they could get milk from llamas or not, but that is the way they make their living - from llamas! They are hard working people...warm, friendly and sweet. The family nuclear unit is important. They are a happy people and look healthy.

I believe we are TOO CLEAN! My father's mother was a clean freak. Everything was spotless and you could eat off her floors. My father developed Type 1 diabetes and I think if my grandmother was not so clean, maybe my father's body would not have attacked his pancreas. I think we could learn a lot from the Peruvians. Our immune system seems to be ready to attack everything. Do y'all agree? Do y'all think we are TOO CLEAN? Do y'all want me to post a picture of the food they eat. Just give me the okay. Warm Regards, Dorothy

[Gabes-Apg]

My thoughts are, being too clean is one of the elements, but not the whole story.

The other key elements
- over use of antibiotics /medications
- excess toxins. (Metals, chemicals, mold, processed foods etc )
- big shortage of key nutrients (soil depleted and bad eating habits.

All of which the body, ie gut, immune system etc is constantly under stress/out of balance.

50 years ago the human body could cope with small amount of imbalance.
Now it is not coping.

[dolson]

I couldn't agree with you more, Gabes! Back in my day, my mother cooked everything. We had good meat, vegetables, fruit, mashed potatoes, Southern sweet tea and we never went out to eat. What was on your plate, you ate! Food was a luxury and you did not leave it on your plate. I am the same today. There was no McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen and other fast food joints that offer no nutrition or vitamins. I feel sorry for the kids of today. Many have never seen a vegetable. Plus everything else you've mentioned is true. Our diet is killing us.

[Kilt]

In Peru, I talked to a Shaman who informed me in America, Australia and England that everything is too clean. He said that's why we have so many auto-immune diseases. We visited a Peruvian home where they eat Guinea Pigs. They have their own pigs in an enclosure. They eat clay with potatoes and it's healthy. . . .

I believe we are TOO CLEAN! . . . Our immune system seems to be ready to attack everything.

Dorothy,

Dr. Allesio Fasano, the head of the Massachusetts General Hospital celiac center and expert on gluten disorders and leaky gut, would agree with the Peruvian shaman and you. I just watched one of his videos the other day in which he claims that one of the major causes of leaky gut are out-of-balance microbiomes in the human gut ("dysbiosis"), and that dysbiosis a likely cause of many autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Fasano says one of the reasons for dysbiosis is that kids don't play in the dirt in backyards anymore; instead, they sit on the couch with electronic devices while mom sprays them with disinfectant. The microbiomes of humans evolved over millions of years to be in harmony with dirt, insects, other animals and nature. (Some animals eat their own feces to maintain their gut balance.)

This has been called the "hygiene hypothesis" of disease causation. There has been a counter-reaction to the hygiene hypothesis, however, by people who say returning to dirtier times would result in exposure to too many other infectious agents.

[dolson]

I agree with your excellent post, Kilt. Kids should play in the dirt, in the mud, and have fun. Play tag, hop scotch, swing and get on the sliding board. A kid should be a kid and that's playing outside in the dirt and not in the house with gadgets stuck to their ears. Kids don't know how to play any longer. Their social skills are NIL. I remember as a wee tot, we played by eating dirt. We ate dirt and was fine. We dug holes in my neighbor's yard to make a great cave! We were always in the dirt. We did lots of things with dirt and had fun! Kids today have no childhood and don't know about dirt and playing in their backyard. Kids are suppose to get dirty, that's part of being a kid. I'll read about Dr. Allesio Fasano. Thanks

[Cran3]

Thank you, everyone! I agree, staying too clean is definitely an issue. In high school a few years ago, most of my classmates would pile on the hand sanitizer and always got so sick.

Whenever I got sick, it was usually pneumonia. I've had it a few times in my life and I believe those harsh medications + my asthma ones as a child could have given me my MC. I never liked the idea of being too clean either though. Of course, I use soap and live in a clean environment, but I had a friend I lived with in college who vacuumed every night and cleaned the bathroom and kitchen every other day, and he got sick all of the time.

Dropping food on the floor and eating it isn't bad for you as long as it's not wet or hairy...
Maybe we should all start eating dirt again.

[brandy]

Cran....I like the San Pellegrino sparkling water in the glass bottles. Sometimes I will have Perrier in the glass bottles
but San Pellegrino has more minerals.

I'm glad overall that you are great!