Am I in an X-files episode? Or, junk food must be a vast conspiracy....

Chris is tired of hearing about it, so I blog....

Seriously, why is this information about leaky gut not plastered all over the news? I need to become an activist, but I don't know how. Challenge me to write letters. Tell me what else I can do. Here are some links about how the specific carbohydrate diet can heal a leaky gut (stolen from a post by JaneS on MDC--hope that's cool):

It All Began with A Child:
http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.i...th_a_child.htm

SCD Overview:
http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.i.../beginners.htm

Science Behind the Diet:
http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.i..._the_diet2.htm

Yogurt for Probiotics:
http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.i...importance.htm

SCD and Allergies:
http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.i.../allergies.htm

I have become convinced that this is what the girls have. And Chris and me. I think the girls got it through my poor diet, being supplemented so heavily with formula for the first 9.5 weeks, being vaccinated, because I got a flu shot while pregnant, because I have fillings that I've had work on while they've been breastfeeding, and because I fed them food that fed the bad bacteria/yeast in their little bellies. The symptoms are mild--a yeast rash that appears when I feed them too much bread, irritability and mood swings (especially in Lena, who weighs a little less, I believe, because she has more damage, more problems asorbing her food--she took longer to get over her first bout of the rotavirus. They both recovered quickly from the one a few weeks ago, thanks to an improved diet.), and difficulty sleeping.

I have hesitated to admit to myself that these are problems and not personality, if you know what I mean. Labeling them "high needs" helped me deal more gently, but is there such an epidemic of high needs babies in traditional cultures? (And holding the babies all the time, like I generally did--still do--is usually cited as the "cure.") It has taken me months of reading and really considering other people's stories--especially the wise mamas on MDC--to see how profoundly we are affected by what we eat and what we don't eat. And I've had to get over my feelings over guilt (as much as I can) so that I can move past the mistakes I've made and come to a place where we can use nutrition to heal the damage I've done through my ignorance.

On the more mainstream twins boards I used to frequent, mamas were complaining about irritability, neediness, and sleep problems all this time, so I thought it was normal. I guess, unfortunately, it is normal. I believe most Americans are suffering from a leaky gut. I feel fortunate that our case seems so mild--ie, no obvious allergies or autoimmune deficiencies. (I think it's because I've always eaten yogurt and vegetables.)

Come on. Now I've said it out loud. Debate me!