Is This Normal?? Common Questions About Dietary Change

Is This Normal?

I get asked this question a lot because as people change diets, and adopt new lifestyle patterns, many questions emerge regarding what should and can be construed as normal. Suffice to say, this varies person to person and rarely in medicine can it be said there is a one size fits all answer, but some generalities do apply.

1. I just cut out all of the non-beneficial foods from my diet but now I feel bloated and gassy. This happens often because once the offending foods have been eliminated, there is the possibility of restoration of beneficial bacteria in the intestines. The growth of these bacteria can initially cause gas due to their re-colonization of intestinal tissues and the consequent crowding out of pathogenic bacteria which do not support health and life.
   
2. I started drinking more water but now I am thirsty all the time. Truthfully, most people are dramatically dehydrated, as a result, when the body finally finds it's self hydrated, the results are dramatic. Once the body realizes water will be in good supply, its demand will suddenly increase until the tissues have been sufficiently re-hydrated. Thirst will eventually normalize and achieve and equilibrium.
   
   
3. I felt amazing for the first few weeks of my diet change, but then my pain/insomnia/depression started to come back. This happens a lot, the reason is, once offending foods have been eliminated, there is a sudden drop in inflammation in the body, which the body uses to attempt healing of chronic issues. Working on those deeper issues prompts more toxin elimination, more waste removal, and also uncovers further issues that have been covered by the topmost layer of inflammation in the body. This cycle may in fact repeat its self many times over years of positive health changes.
   
   
4. My digestion has been strange; going to the bathroom a lot some days and not at all others. Your intestines are a complex array of sophisticated cellular, bacterial, and enzymatic structures which have to work in concert to maintain a functional gut. In most modern people, the intestines are lined with more than 10 pounds of old waste, just sitting along the gut wall, fermenting, and disrupting normal function. This waste exists because of poor digestion, toxic foods, and chronic consumption of food sensitivities. To fully heal the gut can take years, and in the early stages up to one year into significant dietary change, elimination can vary from very good to quite poor.