I started delving into probiotics in 2011. I was always getting "sick". I say "sick" because it would feel like the flu or a cold. I would do extra push ups, or jog or walk farther than usual, and the next day I would feel bad. It never grew into a cold or flu - just hovered at feeling like I was going to get worse for a couple days, and then it would dissipate. I feel like during that time, one of my most used phrases was, "I think I'm getting sick." I wasn't working at the time, so I knew it wasn't being rundown. I searched the internet for hours. Finally I found threads with people who had the exact same symptoms. And finally, I was starting to find possible answers. When I was pushing my body to higher physical limits, the stored up energy was all used, and all the bad flora in my gut was being processed for energy, thus making my body sick.
So I started researching what to eat. I looked at candidiasis, and it had some symptoms that I experienced - fatigue, digestive issues, sinus infections, and joint pain. I printed up a big list of what to eat and what not to eat. It was so long. And I would never follow it to the letter. But, I started thinking more about what I consumed. This was probably the first time in my life that I really thought about eating healthier.
I had mostly just eaten whatever I wanted all my life. It didn't help that I was born with a pretty good metabolism. When I was growing up, my parents weren't home very much. My mom did cook a couple times a week so we always had food for dinner that we could heat up if we didn't eat as a family. But other than that, I was never denied anything at the grocery store. My mom preferred that I got food I would eat, rather than me not eating at all. I think a lot of parents today would look at our shopping cart from back then and be horrified.
Anyway, I set about trying to eat better. I started with Activia. This was a popular product at the time, and Jamie Lee Curtis was always on TV telling me it would make me regular. SNL was on Saturday night telling me it would give me instant diarrhea. I wasn't working at the time, so I figured it was the best time to try it out. I at that yogurt every day. For like 2 weeks. And it just constipated me. I didn't poo for 2 weeks. And then I finally stopped it. I couldn't take it anymore. I started just eating regular yogurt every day. And then I started trying to eat the supposedly healthier yogurt with more active cultures and less corn syrup. And I felt better. I started walking to the grocery store, which was a mile and a half away. I tried to get better snacks - like more trail mix than candy. I knew I wasn't gonna go vegan, but I just tried to eat better. Of course, cooking at home with all my free time was better than getting carne asada fries at the local taqueria. And, I started to feel better. I had more energy, and I didn't feel as achy.
So, I tried to keep up with the yogurt. And then I tried other probiotic type things. Eventually I turned to Kombucha, and probiotic gummies. I settled for the gummies on a daily basis, because they were easier to eat and cheaper. I've been taking the gummies for years now. My first regular brand was Digestive Advantage. But they weren't always available, so I would switch to whatever was available.
So, last year, I added to my immunity regimen. Everyone around us was getting sick. I had Zicam, but that's really for after you start feeling sick, and it made me jittery. So, one day I discovered Elderberry gummies. I read up about elderberry, and it sounded good. So I bought some. And we started taking it. It was a bonus that it tasted delicious. Neither of us got sick, so I kept buying it.
Months later, there's this new virus thing going around that can spread really easily and it's lethal. And all of a sudden, all the probiotics and elderberry gummies are off the shelf in every store I visit. There are signs on those empty shelves that say limit of 2 per customer. Everyone's trying to ramp up their immune system. Probiotics and elderberry probably don't stave off novel coronavirus, but it's worth a try... It just sucks, because I was taking them long before they became the hottest new health fad. Ok, maybe not that long, but before they became so popular that the stores couldn't keep the supply up to meet the demand. Geesh. It's like trying to find toilet paper! Hopefully when this pandemic is over very soon, everyone will go back to not taking probiotics and elderberry, and I'll be able to have my pick of the shelves!
