34. Trevor Zabar, Crohn's Crusaders; Gut Microbiome

In today’s episode, Trevor Zabar, founder of Crohn’s Crusaders, shares his journey with IBD from conventional medications to learning how to heal his gut with time-honored fermented foods. Battling Crohn’s for 35 years since childhood, he talks about being sick all the time. But, neither medications nor surgery ever put him into remission. His weight fluctuated as an adult during periods of sickness and, at one point, he dropped from 180 to 120 lbs.

Through trial and error, Trevor began introducing probiotics and fermented foods into his diet, while eliminating those that are known to be inflammatory. He eventually began drinking kefir (a fermented milk beverage) and slowly started seeing his Crohn’s symptoms improve. After a few months of caring for his gut microbiome, not only did he finally achieve remission, but he also found a new purpose. Trevor made the decision to leave his career in criminal justice to follow his passion for educating others, especially those suffering with gastrointestinal issues, about the gut microbiome–including the power of fermented foods.

Trevor talks about the importance of starting slow with fermented foods, sharing that when he first began drinking kefir, it was just one teaspoon at a time. After years of researching how the gut microbiome works and studying scientific articles, he finally developed a protocol that worked for introducing fermented foods into his diet and regaining his health. He’s been sharing his protocol with others suffering gut issues and just recently finished writing his first book, Crohn’s Crusaders Secrets, that is currently in the final stages of publishing and is an introduction to gut health and everything he’s learned throughout his journey in healing his gut.

For those interested in starting to add fermented foods to their diet, Trevor recommends Siggi’s traditional Icelandic yogurt. If you’re interested in kefir, while obtaining grains and making your own kefir at home is ideal, a commercially-available brand that most people can find in their local grocery store is Lifeway. Trevor also stresses the importance of good quality water and recommends Zephyrhills natural spring water.

Trevor is passionate about the gut microbiome and encourages anyone suffering with gut issues to reach out to him. Follow him on Instagram at @crohns_crusaders to keep up with his current endeavors, including plans for coaching, fermented food instructional videos, and building a support network with subject matter experts in various fields such as gut health, plant-based nutrition, essential oils, hormones, and more.

www.instagram.com/crohns_crusaders
www.crohnscrusaders.com

www.siggis.com (traditional Icelandic yogurt)
www.lifewaykefir.com (commercially available fermented milk)
www.zephyrhillswater.com (natural spring water)