TLDR;
Allison discusses her journey to improve her gut health and how it positively impacted her life. She highlights the importance of addressing gut issues, sharing her personal experience with symptoms like bloating, fatigue, and mood swings. She outlines five key steps she took to heal her gut in 30 days: starving candida, supplementation, eating whole foods and meal prepping, prioritising sleep, and managing stress. She emphasises the significance of consistency and adopting healthy micro-habits for long-term well-being.
- Gut health significantly impacts overall well-being, affecting mood, energy, and skin.
- Addressing gut imbalances can alleviate chronic symptoms and improve quality of life.
- Consistency in healthy habits is crucial for maintaining long-term health.
Intro [0:00]
Allison introduces the topic of gut health and its impact on overall well-being. She reflects on normalising body dysfunction and shares her personal struggles with bloating, acne, and fatigue during her early 20s. She highlights that she felt depressed and tired all the time. After reaching a breaking point with her health, she decided to focus on fixing her gut health. She aims to share how this journey unexpectedly transformed her life and how it can help others facing similar issues.
College Diet [0:44]
Allison discusses the origins of her gut problems, noting that they didn't arise suddenly. She grew up in a health-conscious Korean household with home-cooked meals and green juice. However, her health habits changed when she went to college, where she frequently went out, drank alcohol, and took advantage of the dining hall. She admits she didn't pay much attention to her health, believing that being thin equated to being healthy. Her college diet mainly consisted of carbs due to budget constraints, with minimal protein intake.
Symptoms and Doctor Visit [1:34]
After graduating and moving back home, Allison found herself reverting to old habits while still craving carbs and sugar. She describes her daily diet, which included an avocado bagel for breakfast, a salad with no protein for lunch, and a home-cooked meal for dinner. Weekends involved eating out and not paying attention to her food choices. Despite appearing healthy, she experienced bloating, low energy, mood swings, skin breakouts, and depression. Concerned, she consulted an integrative physician who ordered extensive lab tests, including blood work, urine tests, and stool samples.
Diagnosis and Mission [3:16]
The lab results revealed that Allison was gluten sensitive and had a candida overgrowth. Candida is a yeast present in everyone's gut, but excessive sugar and refined carbohydrates can cause it to overcrowd good bacteria, leading to symptoms like bloating, acne, fatigue, brain fog, and depression. Allison was shocked because she had always considered herself healthy. Motivated to address these issues, she embarked on a mission to achieve optimal health, focusing on fixing her gut.
Starving Candida [4:34]
Allison details the first step in healing her gut: starving the candida. Since candida thrives on sugar, she cut out gluten, dairy, sugar, and most carbohydrates, including fruit, rice, bread, and corn. She essentially adopted a keto diet, increasing her protein and fat intake. This dietary change was mentally and physically challenging, causing fatigue and cravings. She avoided eating out due to the lack of candida-friendly options. She noticed how much food affected her mood, as she could no longer rely on sugary and carb-heavy foods for happiness.
Supplementation [6:17]
The second step involved supplementation. Her doctor recommended an antifungal called Canidex to help kill the candida, but she advises only taking it if you know you have a candida problem and after consulting a doctor. She also highly recommends a good probiotic to maintain a balanced gut microbiome, which aids digestion and bowel movements. Despite the candida, her doctor noted that she had good gut biodiversity, likely due to her long-term probiotic use.
Whole Foods and Meal Prep [7:07]
Allison emphasised eating more whole foods and meal prepping. She prioritised nutrient-dense foods, dark leafy greens, vegetables, and fibre, as she was forced to find energy from sources other than carbs. To stick to her strict protocol, she prepared her meals in advance, especially breakfast and lunch. She recommends easy meal prep options like overnight chia seed pudding, which requires no cooking.
Prioritising Sleep [8:11]
Allison highlights the importance of sleep for gut health, noting the two-way relationship between them. Poor sleep can negatively affect the gut microbiome, causing inflammation and digestive issues, while an imbalanced gut can disrupt sleep quality. She aimed for at least eight hours of sleep per night and used sleep accessories like mouth tape, earplugs, an eye mask, and a weighted blanket. Improved sleep helped reduce tiredness and stress, decreasing her reliance on sugar and carbs.
Stress Management [9:10]
Allison addresses stress management as a crucial factor in her gut health journey. She explains that mood starts in the gut, where neurotransmitters like serotonin and GABA are produced. Imbalances in the gut can lead to mood imbalances. Her lab results showed low serotonin and high GABA levels, indicating potential depression. She started taking better care of her mental health by walking, journaling, and watching TV, as she could no longer rely on food for comfort. This, combined with better sleep, stabilised her mood and improved her gut health.
Final Results [10:27]
After four weeks, Allison experienced significant improvements. Her bloating decreased, her energy levels stabilised, her skin cleared up, and her mood became more emotionally stable. She felt more capable and social, no longer relying on caffeine or sugar for enjoyment. She now has the tools to regulate her nervous system. This journey was about feeling like herself again, as all her chronic symptoms stemmed from her gut.
Final Thoughts [12:10]
Allison encourages viewers to take their health seriously, listen to their bodies, and get checked out if they experience chronic pain or exhaustion. She advises taking control of one's health and not settling for mediocrity. She emphasises that you don't have to overhaul your entire life in a week, as creating healthy habits takes time. Consistency is key, and it's about staying healthy through daily micro-habits. She hopes her video helps others and encourages viewers to like and comment if they found it valuable.