What is My Diet Now, After Years Battling and Overcoming CFS?
I’m often asked, “what did you eat to recover from CFS?”…
“How is your diet now that you’re better?”…
It can be such a loaded question to ask somebody what they eat, particularly because the question often comes with a sense of curiosity, or sometimes even a little hint of nosiness, from the person asking it. That person may be making elements of comparison from their situation to yours… what can THEY be doing in order to reach the position that you are currently in?
Now, whilst its not always useful to compare what you are eating to someone else (recovery tip: please be mindful of doing comparison and perfectionism on CFS recovery - i.e “if they are eating or doing X, then I should be too”), I will tell you a little bit about my CFS journey making a variety of dietary manoeuvres, as you will learn that improvements and transformations are indeed possible:
Starting Out
When I first became unwell, I began working with a naturopath and was given the advice to go strictly yeast-free and sugar-free (that meant trying to avoid some natural sugars too, including fruit!). This was due to the fact that I had ran a stool (microbiome) analysis test which uncovered an overgrowth of a type of yeast called candida in my digestive system (an opportunistic pathogen which can feed off sugar). There is a lot of controversy surrounding the science of candida diets like these (particularly when they are so strict), yet despite being well-intentioned from the practitioner, the advice to be as restrictive as I was incited a lot of damage to my relationship with food, particularly as I was a pescatarian at the time, which made me feel even more restricted with this extra layer added into the mix.
I followed the diet very strictly (out of fear that I would not get better if I didn’t) but was left feeling pretty miserable as a result. The joy had been taken out of life from the fact that I didn’t have my health and at the same time I wasn’t able to fit in or enjoy life through food and eating experiences. My body was increasingly sensitive to foods I was eating and yet my diet became more and more limited. At this time, I was in my final years at university and also did a period of it teetotal (i.e sober in an effort to support my health!).
Reintroductions and Food Wobbles
When it came to the point when I attempted to introduce new foods back into my diet again, I was starting to find gluten and dairy-foods came to be a trigger for my symptoms (particularly the brain fog, gut issues and fatigue), and as such was advised (by another practitioner this time) to take this one step further by embarking on a paleo approach called the AIP protocol (autoimmune protocol) as a means to restore my health. Whilst this AIP protocol is a fantastic tool for rebooting health, specifically by supporting the gut and immune system (and still I do use it to this day with some of my clients), I found that it came at a time in my life where I had gone from one restriction to the next restriction, and so on - i.e. from being a pescatarian to then going sugar- and yeast-free, followed by gluten- and dairy-free, and then adding more restrictions on by eliminating grains, legumes and even nightshades on top of this… talk about sucking the fun out of the eating experience!
As you can imagine, food was all I could think about! Finding ways to avoid what I felt was harming me and my health became an obsession, as I felt that focussing on what was going in my mouth was the only element I could control.
Healing my Relationship with Food
As symptoms and my health started to improve through time, I began to challenge some of the dogma and food phobia that had been ingrained into me over the past years of seeing alternative health practitioners and therapists (not to mention embarking on training in the naturopathic nutrition field myself). I worked on healing my relationship with food and this has been LIBERATING for me in now being at a place where I don’t label my diet anymore - I am much more embracive with food.
One thing I have found totally freeing is being able to go to a restaurant or eat out and have the ENTIRE menu available to me, simultaneously knowing that my body is now better equipped and in a healthier position to tolerate new varieties of foods once again.
That being said, day-to-day I do follow a way of eating that is health-conscious and helps to support my energy, gut, immunity and metabolic health, therefore my diet now pays focus to the following:
o Limiting or avoiding ultra-processed foods (UPF’s), fizzy drinks and artificial sweeteners as much as possible.
o Limiting my alcohol intake: whilst a period of my life has been spent going through periods of 100% sobriety, I’m currently in a place where it’s freeing to have some balance and enjoy a little tipple every now and then – this is what’s working for me right now and I am embracing it!
o I am no longer strictly gluten- or dairy-free: however, I try to keep my intake low when I’m at home, from an inflammation standpoint and a lot of the meals I cook at home (as well as the recipes in my book) are gluten- and dairy-free as well, to help support gut lining integrity and keep inflammation at a minimum.
o I’m mindful of coffee intake as I know caffeine is not something that always sits well with me or my nervous system, BUT I do love the odd cup-of-Joe every now and then – if I make sure I eat when I have it and I’m not super stressed when drinking it!
o I base my meals around high protein (for me that involves poultry, fish and seafood, with a low consumption of red meat), plenty of fresh vegetables and some complex carbs, with a good measure of healthy fats (avocados, nuts, seeds, EVOO), and I try to drink a good amount of water daily, too.
So, that’s me folks! It’s a freeing place to not be pigeonholed or
align myself with a ‘this’ or ‘that’ approach.
So often in CFS I am asked – do I need to be ‘histamine-free’, ‘gluten-free’, ‘paleo’ or whatever flavour of the month they feel is calling to them. I love helping my clients to find what works to them and their individual tolerance profiles, and whilst at some stages a therapeutic diet MIGHT be applicable to you in the crux of CFS, it doesn’t have to be FOREVER, and I can say I am proof positive of that, and showcasing that what foods my body couldn’t handle before, it can now!
For anyone feeling trapped from scaremongering or fear from CFS recovery diets, please know that there is a beautiful food future ahead for you, and you will get there eventually, just like I did! The pendulum swings in both directions and you will achieve that balance you have been long-looking for, just the same as me…
If you would like to work with me in clinic on your health, eating and recovery from CFS, e-mail us at info@ardere.com.