Healthy digestion is critical to cellulite recovery, so it’s important to pay attention to signs of digestive distress. Upset stomach, gas, heartburn, bloating, irregular bowel movements –any of these symptoms needs to be addressed at its root cause if we are to succeed in our anti-cellulite mission.
I once thought these conditions were a normal part of life until I abandoned the industrialized food system a few years ago and started to feel the difference. No more upset stomach in the middle of the night (or other unpleasantries I won’t go into here). That’s why I was so puzzled when I started to feel bloated soon after moving to Maryland two months ago. With so many changes going on in my life at the time, it was difficult to pinpoint the cause. I was forced to use good old-fashioned detective work.
Suspect #1
I was in the midst of reading last month’s Cellulite Cellulite BOTM at the time, The Fat Flush Plan by Ann Louise Gittleman. Ann Louise advocates reducing sodium intake because it can lead to water retention. I always used sea salt freely, scoffing at nutritionists who advise limiting sodium, but the persistent bloating caused me to second guess myself.
I cut back on sea salt, as well as the smoked salmon and fish roe I had started adding to my diet as part of my SAS. The bloating continued.
Suspect #2
My next guess was grains. I didn’t eat much bread when I lived in Florida, but the organic sourdough bread at the Whole Foods near my new house was too good to resist (I love it slathered in butter and topped with smoked salmon –Ann Louise would SO disapprove!). Even if I bought only half a loaf, it was a lot for one person to eat in the few days before it went stale.
I gave up my delicious sourdough bread. The bloating worsened.
Suspects #3 through #5
Next, I wondered if it could be a hormonal issue. Bloating is commonly reported in the luteal phase, so I patiently waited a few weeks to see if it would pass with the start of a new cycle. It didn’t.
By this time, I was feeling increasingly bloated for over a month. It seemed strange that the condition started soon after moving to a new house. Could it be the deplorable non-stick pan I had resorted to cooking with in my new place? It had a large scratch across the side, which was likely leaching all sorts of nefarious substances into my food. I immediately went out and bought a proper cast iron replacement. Yet, the bloating continued.
My good friend, Internet, informed me that bloating can be caused by a lack of protein in the diet. For the first time in my life, I researched the macro nutrient content of the food I eat on a daily basis. I was surprisedhow much more protein is present in meat, seafood, and poultry than in other animal products such as eggs and milk (seems obvious now, but I guess I hadn’t thought about it before). I was eating a lot of oatmeal for breakfast and lighter, vegetable-based meals for dinner. Could I be suffering from a lack of protein in the diet?
I made some adjustments and waited for results. No, that wasn’t it either.
Suspect #6
Oh my goodness, I’ve got some sort of bug. Maybe it’s a parasite. Maybe all those raw animal products I consume finally caught up to me. Was it the raw milk I bought from that Amish woman? One of the umptillion raw cheeses I devoured from Whole Foods (wicked temptress!)? The raw liver I started taking for Vitamin B?
I called the free nurse-hotline offered by my insurance to ask if I should see a doctor. She didn’t think it was a parasite because of my lack of other symptoms. She suggested eating yogurt and drinking tea, two things I already do on a near-daily basis.
Suspect #7
Suspect #7 was the obvious answer, but I ruled it out because of its airtight alibi. I was taking a new iodine supplement as part of my Summer Anti-Cellulite Surge, but the bloating began two weeks before I started taking the supplement. Still, I started researching iodine and bloating to see if there is a documented correlation.
I found this forum about iodine supplementationat Curezone.com where I learned that upper gastro-intestinal bloating (exactly what I was experiencing) is a common side-effect for people who are just starting iodine therapy. That’s when I realized that even though the bloating started before I took the iodine supplements, my diet was unusually high in iodine the two weeks prior because I was eating fish roe. Fish roe is naturally high in iodine.
I stopped taking the iodine supplement and within days, the bloating went away. Case closed. What a relief!
**Stay tuned for upcoming posts about why I think iodine could be an important element in my cellulite recovery plan.
Are you battling the blight solo? Cellulite investigating is much more fun (and effective) when you're not going at it alone. Come join the conversation in our discussion forum.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
You still need iodine though so load up on those sea vegetables!!!
I'd caution you on the iodine. Thyroid problems run in my family, and my mom kept herself off of Synthroid by taking (literally) handfuls of kelp tablets daily. Kelp is high in iodine. After menopause, her thyroid normalized, and she was able to stop taking kelp. THis past year, when I started having issues that appeared to be thryoid-related, she suggested I try the kelp. I did at the beginning of this summer, for a week. I really think it made things worse. I swear I gained weight for the week and a little while after I stopped taking itAND I became incredibly anxious, had rapid heart beat, and generally felt like crap. That was with one tablet! I had read that taking kelp (and iodine) can alter normal thyroid function, though my mom said she didn't believe that. Well, makes sense, as how else would it help to change a sluggish or overactive thryroid?
Anyway, the anxiety and heart beat issue stopped a a week or so after I stopped the kelp.
Everyone's different, so maybe it'll benefit you, but it certainly didn't help me!
Don't worry, Gigi. I haven't given up on iodine. Just wait until you see tomorrow's post!
Herama, that is so interesting about your iodine reaction. From what I've been reading on this forum about iodine supplementation, heart palpitations and bloating are a common side effect because your body is purging all the unhealthy halogens (bromine and fluorine) from your system. Iodine certainly does affect thyroid function –the body needs iodine to produce Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. I'm running a post tomorrow with more information about halogens. I'd be interested to know your thoughts in light of this info.
Hi Melissa, my husband completely solved his chronic bloating by getting off all grains!! It was freaky. After trying everything else for years with minimal success, just this one change made ALL the difference! He has healed for 6 months now and is able to eat grains once again with no problem as long as they are soaked, sprouted, or sour leavened! Hurray!
Would love it if you would consider sharing this post or another of your insightful blogs at Monday Mania. Hope to see you there!
Great story, Sarah. Thanks for sharing! I had heard that some people with gluten intolerance are able to eat soaked/sprouted grains after the digestive system is given a chance to heal, but I didn't know of anyone in particular who could vouch for that claim. I've been eating soaked and soured grains for a few years now, but I didn't seem to have a problem with grains in the first place so sometimes I wonder how much of a difference it makes.
Thanks for the invite to Monday Mania. I will check it out.
Hi!
Thanks for posting, this was a really big help! As I was reading through all the things you tried to get rid of the bloating, I found myself mentally checking off all those exact steps of things I had tried (gluten-free, low sodium, high protein diet)! I started taking a BMR complex (iodine and other glandular supplements) fairly faithfully about a month ago because my naturopath told me that it would supplement the irregularity in my thyroid glad, specifically, my reverse T3. I think at first it was going well, but then, just like you described, I started to bloat. I’ve been sluggish, cried easily, had horrible pain in my abdomen, and had a hard time swallowing. This was confusing as this could easily be confused with PMS symptoms. My mother and friends said I looked pregnant. I’m getting married in 4 months, and this is certainly not what I need at this point!
I had heard some rotten things about iodine and had asked my doctor about it- he didn’t seem to think this was a problem. I did my homework on the other supplement I was taking- magnesium glycinate, but couldn’t find anything about this causing bloating (unless following severe diarrhea, which I wasn’t having). So… I just found your page, read through it, thanked the Lord for the direction to have found it, and am promptly discontinuing my BMR complex! Thank you so much! If you have any other insight about any of the things I’ve described, please let me know!
Hi, Jessy. Thanks for your comment! Yup, your experience sounds exactly like mine. I certainly felt pregnant. It’s amazing how much a teensy amount of iodine can upset things, isn’t it?
Discontinuing the iodine supplement should fix the bloating, but I would also try to figure out why your body reacts to iodine that way. These types of iodine reactions are usually because the iodine is releasing a toxic halogen from your body. In my case, it’s fluoride. I took fluoride pills as a child (thanks to the dentist) and now I have a skin condition called fluoroderma, where my face breaks out if I consume food or drinks that contain fluoride. I wrote all about it here: Everything You Need to Know About Acne and Fluoride. Iodine also detoxes bromine and other toxic halogens, so it’s not necessarily a sign of fluoride toxicity.
I’m still trying to figure out how to safely detox all this fluoride. I stopped using supplements because the reaction was too hard on my body. Now I’m using iodine-rich foods (like caviar!) and foods that contain a lot of boron. Boron detoxes fluoride, too.
Congrats on your wedding! I just got engaged in February. I hope you are enjoying the planning process!