My Food Story

My story begins with my grandmother. She was the daughter of immigrants and did all the things the way they had done them for decades. In addition to cooking and cleaning, she gardened and canned vegetables. After my grandparents had moved to Connecticut for retirement, my mother and 3 siblings moved into their 200 year old farm house. on the small acre of land that suburbia was springing up around we had a plethora of berries, nuts, and herbs to entice my natural curiosity.

When I was 10, I hid a book on wild edible and medicinal herbs so it couldn't be returned to the library. By the time I was in high school i was clearly interested in botany and horticulture. Since both of my grandfathers had been farmers in their younger years it seemed only natural. While i studied for a general associates of science at community college, I worked my way from the deli at a gourmet grocery store to being the perishables manager at a local natural foods chain.

Then two things happened, I took my first nutrition class and I bumped into listing for Bastyr University while looking for sustainable agriculture programs. Bastyr is a college of natural medicine and has cool majors like herbal science and whole foods nutrition. I choose nutrition because my mom taught me to be practical.

During my first semester I visited the college health clinic because my inflammation symptoms were becoming unbearable and socially isolating. my belly looked 8 month pregnant and the gas i was having would have shamed a dog. Additionally my eczema was at an all time worst with a scabbiness that kept me wearing sleeves for every occasion. The dietitian students were quick to assure me that I had a food intolerance and could do a none specific diet to find out what it is.

The elimination diet is where one eats only a handful of hypoallergenic foods until symptoms subside. Each old food is introduced one at a time to see what the offending foods are. It a very hard diet and took me 3 months to complete and I felt great afterward.

Since then I've studied ways of repairing the damage in my gut. I even found a functional blood test to help narrow down the troublesome foods. I can really relate to my clients who may have bowel distress, head aches, eczema, bloating, reflux, and many other symptoms. I was told it was in my head and i know it's not in yours.

#MyFoodJourney #eliminationdiet #MRT #FoodAllergies #FoodIntolerances