One of my favorite subjects!!! Please forgive my long-windedness in advance.
I've struggled with my consumption habits for much of my life. I was raised on the Standard American Diet, and both parents worked full-time and then some, so our meals were often frozen or fast except for the weekends. I also had several periods of time in my life when I had no idea where my next meal would come from, so I learned to eat and stash as much as I could every chance I got for fear of not having more later. I remained overweight (eventually becoming morbidly obese as the docs like to refer to it), but each time I had my yearly blood work done, the doc would always say, "Your numbers look good." and there was no more discussion about diet and such, even when the number on the scale passed the 300 mark. Ummmmmm.....that can't be healthy, but the doc never seemed concerned, so neither was I, being the good patient I'd been taught to be.
Instead of addressing any consumption issues, my doc diagnosed me with severe irritable bowel syndrome, severe nervous stomach, severe fibromyalgia, severe osteoarthritis, severe bronchitis, severe adhd, severe anxiety, severe depression, severe insomnia, severe everydamnthing is what it felt like, and happily accepted me as a frequent flyer in her office as I was frequently suffering from painful stomach issues, respiratory issues, pain issues, and eventually many mood/anxiety issues, all the while steadily farming me out to specialists with very little relief, but many more complicated issues resulting, instead.
She was great for helping to get written excuses to be off work when I needed, and helping suppress some symptoms long enough and well enough to get me back to work quickly, but she wasn't helping me actually heal anything to keep it from being a recurring issue. They apparently don't receive much educational time as it relates to nutrition in medical school, from what I understand, so they aren't always the best ones to rely on when it comes to those topics. My doc now asks me for advice during each visit. lol Never thought that would be happening in my world.
I now eat a well planned (most days) whole foods/plant-based vegan diet, paying close attention to mucus forming foods, food combining, and such, and include a few supplements. I've since lost a whole person (110 lbs.), have more energy than I ever thought was possible some days, have much less brain fog, less severe pain, less symptoms in several arenas, no longer require multiple daily naps to survive my own mind, and have been able to slowly give up the many prescriptions I'd been prescribed through the years, along with many over the counter symptom suppressors I'd been used to reaching for automatically. It's the hardest thing I've ever done, thus far, but equally rewarding. All the feelings come up to surface along with the process. There's really no way to escape the endless triggers of all the substances I no longer ingest, either, so it remains quite challenging, be it in real life or online, as if I didn't feel like enough of an alien before making this drastic lifestyle change. Ha!!
I started my learning journey as it relates to food, functioning, and mood by consulting with a local nutritionist, as a result of desperation in trying all the doc (and many specialists) had suggested, who was open to bartering time instead of me having to pay cash since insurance didn't cover it. My first experiment was eliminating gluten for a week. In that short time, I discovered how incredibly rewarding it was to pay closer attention to this food stuff. I no longer had nearly as much of the painful swelling and inflammation, chronic fatigue, moodiness, and thick brain fog that weighed me down so heavily before.
Then I eliminated sodas, teas, coffee, and alcohol, as I learned that my adrenals were tired of being repeatedly crashed on quite a consistent basis by my heavy caffeine intake, on top of the already default flight or fight mode they're stuck in thanks to cptsd, not to mention the sugars and the other foreign toxic substances they shove into those things, and hangovers hurt a hell of a lot more than they used to, so I decided to stop abusing my body with those choices, as many others had already done enough of that for me. I later learned all foods act as stimulants to varying degrees.
Ginger flavored kombucha on tap was the most helpful in helping me shake the beer and soda. I discovered it at a music festival in the middle of a hot humid summer. It can be purchased in the bottle, too, but be prepared for it to make you pucker, as it's quite sour, not the typical sugary shit we've been accustomed to. It was the first festy I'd been able to fully enjoy without the pain, swelling, and headaches I was used to. Issues with the severe insomnia I'd also been diagnosed with seemed to improve as I continued on this route. My body now functions on it's normal circadian rhythm, which was previously foreign to me as a former shift worker. Moods improved after the initial shock and withdrawal effects of giving up some favorite things wore off. Less rage, less snappage. More dots being connected.
At the time, I still dearly loved my meat, cheese, and eggs, so I switched to only local, grass fed, free range "humanely" raised and slaughtered animal products to try to eat cleaner versions in hopes of continuing my newfound food remedy potentials. Even the nutritionist highly recommended still consuming all of the above, but only in moderation. But the weight stayed on, I still suffered from some significant inflammation and pain, especially in the feet/ankle/calf area and lower back, still ran out of energy quickly, and just didn't feel well more often than not. Moods worsening, again. Dammit!!!!!! I've already sacrificed so many things I loved, wtf??????? (is all I could think) The doc was still very willing to prescribe things to suppress symptoms, but that simply wasn't enough any longer, I wanted to dig up the damn roots so it wouldn't continue to grow. The nutritionist had long since moved away and I just kept eating the way she had taught me hoping relief of some sort would find me.
I had heard of veganism, but was certain I'd die without all of my favorite things that I was convinced were already healthy enough, in moderation especially. (I'm still reminded of working at a fuel station decades ago and watching as folks put diesel in a gasoline engine expecting it to still run okay, even if only a small moderate amount. lol) I also didn't care much for being asked to watch the horrific processes of how food was getting to my table, either. But once I did, I couldn't unsee it or unknow it and it sent me on a whole new head and heart journey in recognizing some of the same exact abuse I'd suffered myself at the hands of others containing and using me for their pleasure. I wasn't just digesting the products, I was also digesting the energies of each and every journey. Woah! There was whole lot of death and darkness at the end of my fork and in my cells, even when heavily marketed as being from a supposed happy place or happy animal, and it no longer tasted nearly as good as I remembered.
Then I had a gall bladder attack that prompted me to finally ditch all of that stuff that my taste buds were hanging onto, no matter how much I loved it, and try the vegan route. Luckily, they didn't have to remove the gall bladder and I called up my favorite vegan friend as soon as I got back home for help and one-on-one guidance. My blood work numbers are better than ever nowadays. I still suffer from significant pain at times, but not nearly as bad as before when I was damn near bed ridden. I also love to cook (as does the hubby) and have a lot of time on my hands since having to resign from my job to try to regain my health, making it much easier for me to follow through with it. Best move I've made in my life thus far, no doubt about it, in both the hubby and the diet. lol It's been hard a f*** for many reasons, but worth it. I never again wish to knowingly consume those things knowing what I know now and having experienced the various levels of relief I've felt.
