Learning About How My Body Reacts to Certain Foods

by A. Liam
(Farmington, ME, USA)

I have never had a particularly healthy diet. I've often eaten a lot of junk food, sometimes eat fast food (even McDonald's), and generally eat out a lot and don't get enough water, fruits and veggies, grains, etc.

In 2007, I started to notice that my digestive system seemed to be upset a lot. I had gas, my stomach hurt, and I had frequent indigestion (which I have had since I was a kid).

I saw a doctor, who diagnosed irritable bowel syndrome and gastroenteritis offhand but didn't provide a treatment course or recommendations for diet improvement. So I kept on doing exactly what I was doing and kept feeling yucky.

After graduating from college though, two things happened. I was really poor and couldn't afford to eat out, and I had roommates who were great cooks and ate a lot of healthy food.

Since then, I didn't cook very well. I ate a lot of food my roommates prepared, and I noticed very quickly an improvement in my digestive issues. One of my roommates was lactose intolerant, so as a household we didn't buy a lot of dairy products.

All my life I'd been a heavy dairy consumer, but when the amount of dairy products in my diet decreased signficantly, my indigestion went down about 60%! Eating more vegetables also improved my digestive issues significantly.

Finally, I began drinking water like a fish and replaced a lot of soda/dairy/acidic juices with water, and I noticed I've had so much more energy than before!

So my biggest tips are:

1. Learn to cook if you don't know how. Find a loving, gentle friend and ask them to teach you.

2. Eat more fruits and veggies.

3. Drink water when you can! It's amazing what getting that required 8 8 oz. glasses of water a day can do for your body.

4. Use dairy sparingly, especially if you have digestive issues.