Some time ago, a client came to see me because she was experiencing increasingly severe digestive problems. She felt as though there were almost no foods left that she could tolerate.
For more than two years, she had been dealing with daily diarrhea, nausea, bloating and abdominal pain. She was also chronically tired and stressed, and she had lost a significant amount of weight.
Like many people who experience symptoms after eating, she had gradually eliminated the foods that seemed to cause problems.
Then she eliminated another one.
And another.
Over time, her diet became extremely restrictive.
By the time I met her, she was essentially eating chicken broth, meat with a little ghee, and homemade goat or sheep’s milk yogurt.
She couldn’t tolerate beef.
She couldn’t tolerate eggs or even egg yolks.
Carbohydrates and sugars also seemed impossible for her to digest.
She was eating less and less — and continuing to lose weight.
At that point, the question was no longer simply:
“What else should she eliminate?”
We also needed to ask:
“Why had her digestive system become so sensitive in the first place?”
And just as importantly: how could we prevent her diet from becoming even more restrictive?
Digestive problems: when eliminating foods becomes a vicious cycle
Eliminating a food can sometimes be helpful.
If a particular food consistently causes symptoms, temporarily removing it may give the digestive system some relief.
But there can also be a problem.
Every new symptom may lead you to eliminate another food.
Gradually, the list of foods you feel “safe” eating becomes smaller and smaller.
And when someone is already experiencing chronic diarrhea and losing weight, an extremely restrictive diet can become an additional concern.
So in situations like this, I don’t only ask:
“What can’t this person tolerate?”
I also want to understand:
“What happened that caused these foods to become so difficult to tolerate?”
We started very slowly
There was obviously no question of suddenly changing her entire diet.
Instead, we began very gently, reintroducing certain foods one at a time, in small amounts, while carefully observing how she responded.
For example, butter.
Then coconut oil.
Then eggs.
The goal was to gradually expand her diet without overwhelming a digestive system that had become extremely sensitive.
And, importantly, to stop automatically viewing every food as the enemy.
A few months later…
I recently received an email from her.
She told me that she is digesting better and better.
And after a long period of continued weight loss, she has finally started to gain weight again.
Her journey isn’t over.
But this change is significant.
And it illustrates something I often see in my work:
When your diet becomes increasingly restrictive, the answer isn’t necessarily to find the next food to eliminate.
We need to understand why your digestion changed in the first place.
Are you no longer digesting the way you used to?
Your situation may be far less severe than the one I’ve just described as you may have less digestive problems that this person, but perhaps you recognize the pattern.
You eliminated one food.
Then another.
You now avoid certain meals because you’re afraid of bloating, reflux, pain or digestive discomfort.
Eventually, you no longer really know what you can eat.
This is precisely when an individualized approach can be helpful.
After 38 years of working with clients, I don’t believe in applying the same protocol to everyone.
I want to understand your history, your symptoms, your diet and what was happening when your digestive problems began.
Because two people who have trouble digesting the same foods can have completely different histories and needs.
The gut-brain connection can also play an important role in chronic digestive problems. I explain this connection in more detail in this article. The Startling Connection Between the Gut and the Mind: Part 1
If you feel you’ve already tried many things and your digestive problems are still affecting your daily life, I can help you take a closer look at what may be going on.
👉 BOOK A CONSULTATION
Persistent diarrhea, significant unintentional weight loss, blood in the stool, persistent vomiting or other concerning symptoms require medical evaluation. A naturopathic consultation does not replace medical diagnosis or care.
Béatrice Levinson
Gut-Brain Connection & Chronic Digestive Health Specialist
38 years of experience
