A Homesteader’s Journey to Gut Health

“Rebuilding the hearth from the dirt up: A journey of ancestral healing, garden medicine, and reclaiming the kitchen.”

Dearest Friends,

If you’ve been following along for a while, you know my life is lived in the rhythm of the seasons. The 4 a.m. wake-ups to the sound of the birds, the dirt under my fingernails, and the pride of pulling a golden, crackling loaf of sourdough from the oven.

Lately, though, the rhythm has been off.

I’ve been carrying a heaviness that sleep couldn’t fix. I told myself it was just the “good kind” of exhaustion—the kind that comes from a life well-lived on the land. But deep down, I knew something was wrong. My mind was foggy, my joints ached, and the very food I was growing to nourish myself felt like it was slowing me down.

So, I decided to stop guessing. I sat down, took a deep breath, and opened my IgG Food Map results.

I wasn’t prepared for what I found. My hearth—the very center of my home—is broken. And I have to rebuild it from the ground up.

When the Staples Turn Against You

There is a specific kind of heartbreak that comes when science tells you that your “craft” is causing your “clutter.”

I looked at the report, and the bars were glowing red under Wheat Gluten, Whole Wheat, and Baker’s Yeast. My sourdough. The starter I’ve kept alive like a member of the family. The loaves I’ve shared with neighbors and broken with friends. My body doesn’t see it as nourishment; it sees it as an invader.

And it didn’t stop there. Our farm dairy—the creamy yogurt, the sharp cheddar, the fresh whey—showed up as “Very High” reactivity. For a homesteader, these aren’t just ingredients; they are our identity. To see them labeled as “the enemy” felt like a betrayal of the land I love.

The Surprise in the Garden

But the biggest shock? It wasn’t the bread or the cheese. It was the “healthy” stuff.

I’ve spent some time stocking up Kidney Beans, Lentils, and Black Beans thinking I was building a plant-based sanctuary for my gut. I even looked at growing Kale

It’s a strange feeling realizing you have to start over. It’s a total rewrite of my nutritional map.

Clearing the Fog

The results also gave a name to the “ghost” in my head: Candida albicans. If you’ve ever felt that thick, heavy brain fog—the kind where you forget where you put your favorite trowel or why you walked into the barn—you know how scary it feels. I thought I was just “aging fast.”

But it wasn’t age. It was an invisible imbalance in my gut, fueled by the very sugars and carbs I was eating to keep my energy up. Finding this out wasn’t just a diagnosis; it was a relief. I wasn’t losing my mind; I was just out of balance.

What Happens Now?

So, where do we go from here?

I’m currently standing in my pantry, looking at jars and cans realizing they need to go. I’m looking at my garden beds and planning a whole new way to plant.

It feels overwhelming, but it also feels like a fresh start.

In my next post, I’m going to share my “Green List”—the safe, healing foods that are going to be my new foundation. I’m also diving deep into my first love, Herbalism, to see how the plants can heal the damage that’s been done.

I’d love for you to walk this path with me. We’re going to find a new way to nourish the hearth, one healing herb at a time.