I Reintroduced Milk and My Gut Flared: What I'm Doing to Heal

I want to tell you about something that happened to me very recently, because I know I'm not the only one who has been here.

I added cow's milk to my coffee, thinking a little wouldn't hurt. I got a little too confident, and it really backfired.

My history with dairy

Dairy has always been a bit complicated for me.

In the past, my body reacted to it. I'd get bloating and diarrhoea, and a few years back I ate cheese and broke out in hives all over. That's when I knew I had an intolerance.

But it wasn't the same every time. Every now and then I would enjoy cheese and other dairy products and be completely fine. Once I started keto, I included aged cheese, cream cheese, and heavy cream in my diet, and they worked for me.

So I wasn't someone who didn't know. My body had already given me warnings. I just also had times when dairy seemed fine, and that made it easy to forget.

Why I thought it would be okay

Here's the thing. I've also been looking at plant-based milks, and the more I looked, the less healthy they seemed to me. (I wrote about that in why I stopped grabbing coffee and matcha when I go out.)

So I thought, okay, maybe a little bit of cow's milk won't hurt.

I've never been a big cow's milk drinker. But recently I started having it, and I really enjoyed it. A coffee with milk after the first meal of the day became a little part of my routine.

I honestly thought it would be fine.

What actually happened

I got a little too confident.

I had dairy milk in my coffee a couple of days in a row. And without realising it, I basically triggered a perfect storm in my digestive tract.

Milk was the main culprit that started the flare. But then I unknowingly poured fuel on the fire by having cheese, strong black tea, and bad, acidic tomatoes right on top of it.

The back-to-back overload completely backfired. It caused acute inflammation down my whole system, in my stomach and lower gut. It was painful and exhausting, and it took over my days. If you've had a flare like this, you know how it feels. Everything else stops mattering. You just want your body to calm down.

The worst flare I've had

This was the worst inflammation I've ever had. It was a histamine overload, directly connected to my IBS, and it hit hard.

Looking back, it wasn't only the milk. It was the pile-up. One trigger on top of another, until my body had enough.

What I've learned

Now I know for sure: my system just doesn't stand a chance with dairy, gluten, or plant fibres right now. They sit in my stomach without digesting properly and make everything worse.

After a lot of research, I learned that gluten, dairy, and fibre can be some of the worst things you can eat if you have a damaged gut. Foods that most people call healthy can be the very thing that keeps the inflammation going.

What's gone, completely

Dairy, gluten, and all plant fibres are completely gone. That means no milk and no little exceptions, including the cheese and cream I used to eat. My body gave me a very clear answer, and I'm not going to argue with it.

Back to carnivore-style keto

I'm going right back to a carnivore-style keto diet, sticking strictly to steak, eggs, clean meats, and chicken, alongside my medication. It has helped me heal so much faster, and I've learned that carnivore combined with fasting works really well for healing.

Removing all the digestive friction gives my body the rest it actually needs to recover. For now, I've stripped my diet completely back to basic, soothing meats and zero irritants, and it stays that way until everything has completely settled. Nothing fancy and nothing exciting. It's a little boring, honestly. But when your body is inflamed, boring is kind.

It's all connected

Here's what I most want you to know. If you're dealing with bloating, flares, pain, hormone chaos, or any of these symptoms, it is not just another sickness on top of everything else.

It is all connected. Our gut needs to be healthy in order to have balanced hormones and be healthy overall. When the gut is inflamed and damaged, the rest of the body feels it. That's why I'm putting so much into healing mine.

Videos worth watching

I went through this, but you don't have to go through it the hard way.

I did a lot of research, and out of many videos, these three from Dr. Eric Berg are some of the ones I found most worth watching. They helped me understand what's going on in my body and learn ways to heal.

• What is Histamine Intolerance? High Histamine Foods to Avoid
• 9 Things to Help Heal an Inflamed Colon
• Eat ONLY Meat for 30 Days?!

If you find yourself experiencing these symptoms, I really encourage you to go watch them and learn. Understanding what's actually happening in your body is the first step to healing it.

Letting myself rest

This is the part I'm still learning. When I'm in a flare, my first instinct is to keep going, keep working, and keep up as if nothing is wrong.

But healing needs rest. Slowing down isn't falling behind. It's part of getting better.

I also wrote about this in a different way in my post on trusting God's timing, about how there's a season to be sick and a season to heal. This is one of those seasons for me, and I'm choosing to rest in it instead of fighting it.

What I'm taking from this

I could look at this as a failure. I tried something and my body said no.

But I'd rather see it as information. My body told me something I needed to know, loudly. And now I can look after it better.

It's also a reminder that your gut sits at the centre of your health, hormones included. And healing isn't a straight line. There are good weeks and there are setbacks, and a setback doesn't erase the progress you've made.

A quick note

I'm not a doctor, just someone who has been through this and learned a lot along the way. If you're in a lot of pain, please get checked by your doctor too.

Where I am now

I'm resting, eating simply, and giving my gut time. I'm grateful that my body let me know what it needed, and I'm trusting that this season will pass.

So, friend, if any of this sounds familiar, I hope it helps you feel less alone. Have you noticed foods or habits that affect your gut? I'd love to hear.