For many of you, getting glutened may be your single biggest fear (it’s mine too), especially if you’re celiac, gluten-sensitive or have an autoimmune disease. As a gluten sensitive individual, I can confirm that getting glutened is definitely NOT fun. Yesterday Roy and I both got food poisoning and for me, it was almost like being glutened. I was incredibly nauseous, dizzy, had pins and needles and started cramping up in my hands, I also had extreme bloating (i’m talking 7 months pregnant) + stomach cramping and I struggled to breathe properly because of the intense bloating. I was sooo uncomfortable. Roy had slightly different symptoms to me, but boy oh boy were we both nauseous! Here are some of the most common symptoms you may experience;
Common Symptoms of Gluten Exposure & Food Poisoning
Bloating
Headaches or migraines
Diarrhoea
Nausea and/ or vomiting
Stomach pains or cramping
Anxiety or mood changes (irritability, etc)
Reflux
Rashes
Brain fog
Muscle aches. pains and cramping
Unnaturally thirsty
Weakness and fatigue
Fever …to name a few
Fortunately, over the years I have learned how to stop food poisoning and gluten in its tracks and wouldn’t think of traveling anywhere without remedies that can help resolve the situation, ideally as soon as you feel that horrible nausea set in and long before the bathroom runs even begin! Keep reading for my go-to recovery tools.
HOW TO RECOVER FROM ACCIDENTAL GLUTEN EXPOSURE OR FOOD POISONING
Drink Lots of Filtered Water
There isn’t really a health issue water can’t help with. If you’re tired, drink water. Bloated, drink water. Cramps, drink water. Cravings, drink water. Headaches, drink water. Digestive issues, drink water. Breakouts, drink water. Detoxing, drink water. And it’s also the same for food poisoning and being glutened too. It’s extremely important to guard against dehydration during this time. It’s essential for recovery because your body's working overtime trying to deal with the gluten, so one of the best things you can do to support your body, is to drink lots of filtered water. I use Waters Co to filter our water.
Take Activated Coconut Charcoal
Adsorbing the offending toxin(s) is key to quickly resolving food poisoning. Food grade bentonite clay and activated charcoal are very effective adsorbents for symptoms such as diarrhoea resulting from food poisoning, a bacterial infection, or a virus. Activated charcoal is also helpful when gluten is accidentally eaten by those who are gluten intolerant or Celiac. Both bentonite clay and activated charcoal prevent toxins from being absorbed from the stomach into the body which is why they work so well as food poisoning remedies. Charcoal can also be helpful if you’ve consumed suspect food or drink, if you’re dealing with intense gas or bloating and if you’re looking to support detoxification from mould and/or heavy metals.
I personally love activated coconut charcoal capsules because they’re so convenient. I always carry a bottle of Activated Coconut Charcoal Capsules with me.
And because I had a bottle in my backpack, we were lucky to be able to take it as soon as we realised we were both feeling nauseous and instantly knew something was wrong. It’s best taken right at the onset of the gluten exposure or food poisoning, but you can also continue taking it for a few hours or days afterwards as it will significantly help to ease any negative symptoms such as stomach pain, nausea, bloating or diarrhoea that you may still be experiencing.
Note: If you take activated charcoal for general detox support (not as an emergency detox tool), do so 2 hours between any food, drink, medications or supplements so it doesn’t interfere with the absorption of them. You can read more about Activated Coconut Charcoal on Pg. 10 of my Gutventure Travel Guide.
Rest & Sleep
After you’ve done those first two things – REST! Your body is physiologically stressed and working overtime, trying to detoxify and repair the damage. Give your body all the quiet, recuperation time it needs by laying in bed and sleeping. Remove all distractions such as laptops and phones and allow your body as much time as it needs to recover.
Eat Easy To Digest Foods
Try to give your digestion a break by consuming lots of cooked and/or pureed foods. Soups, stews, LOADS of bone broth, soft cooked veggies and slow cooked meats are all good options because they’re much easier to digest and a lot more gentle on your system. For the meantime, avoid harder to digest foods like; pork, salads, legumes, nuts, grains and raw foods as they can be quite taxing on the digestive system.
For the next week or so, we’ll be living off meals like this that are nutrient dense, incredibly nourishing, easy to digest and quick to make.
I made my Green Veggie Puree - it’s flavoursome quick and easy one-pot dish full of nourishing, anti-inflammatory vegetables, ghee/ butter and bone broth. It’s easy to digest, full of healing and soothing bone broth and it’s loaded with fibre and prebiotics making it super GUT FRIENDLY! I served it with a delicious slow roasted chicken + it’s juices (that’s where all the flavour is!). I’ll also be making lots of chicken soup, mild fish curries full of anti-inflammatory spices like turmeric and ginger, veggie purees and soups.
Take Digestive Enzymes
Digestive enzymes work to immediately break down the food you’ve consumed and support your digestion, which is now working overtime. They contain the enzymes that our bodies need to fully break down and digest our food. Some of the benefits of digestive enzymes includes;
Help heal leaky gut by taking stress off the GI tract
Assists the body in breaking down difficult-to-digest protein and sugars like gluten, casein and lactose (especially if you’re consuming more than you normally would)
Enhances nutrient absorption and prevents nutritional deficiency
Counteracts enzyme inhibitors naturally in foods like peanuts, wheat germ, egg whites, nuts, seeds, beans and potatoes
Helps to decrease uncomfortable digestive issues like gas, bloating, constipation and inflammation
I talk more about this on pg. 11 of my Gutventure Travel Guide.
Consume Fermented Foods
Fermented foods are rich in prebiotics, probiotics and enzymes which help to support the healthy microbes in the digestive tract, crowding out the bad bacteria and yeast strains. Fermented foods are essential in helping to repair a leaky gut or any damage the accidental gluten exposure or food poisoning has incurred, replenishing good bacteria in your gut, improving digestive health and boosting your immune system. So if you want to learn how you can really nourish your gut bugs and keep them happy you can use probiotic cultures to create delicious probiotic rich foods such as probiotic veggies and fruits, coconut kefir and coconut yoghurt to name a few. I have lots of probiotics recipes HERE and information blog posts HERE if you’d like to learn more about them.
Consume Bone Broth
Both bone broth and gelatin contain proline and glycine, which are amino acids that help heal and soothe a damaged gut lining and reduce inflammation from gluten exposure. Gelatin and bone broth are also a rich source of collagen which also helps to support skin, hair, nail, joint and gut health. You can incorporate bone broth into almost anything. I use bone broth as the base of soups, stews, add into cauliflower puree, butter chicken, spaghetti sauce, curries, drink it like a hot cup of tea, slow cook meat in it and cook rice in it. I like to use a combination of homemade bone broth + dehydrated bone broth powder + bone broth concentrates, the more the better!
Slippery Elm
Slippery elm provides a soothing film over any mucous membrane it comes into contact with. It can also temporarily reduce inflammation and pain making the benefits of slippery elm especially helpful for conditions such as IBS and colitis. It can also soften and/ or add bulk to stools so it’s useful for both diarrhoea and constipation. You can get slippery elm as a tincture, or a powder which can be added into foods (I’ll often use it to thicken up my homemade bone broth gravies), or convenient capsules (I love these Nature’s Sunshine Slippery Elm capsules).
*Please note that the slippery elm benefits cannot be enjoyed during pregnancy. It has the potential to dilate the cervix and/or stimulate uterine contractions.
Get Into Nature
Get outside and go for a walk, even if it’s only for 15 minutes. It will help to clear your mind, reduce inflammation and boost endorphins, which in turn will help to reduce stress hormones. Trust me, nature will always make you feel better.
Being prepared can make all the difference to recover quickly and get back to your usual happy vibrant self in no time! Recovery times will vary depending on your individual body, but for me, it usually takes about two days until I feel okay again.
Jordan x