Since I can remember, I have struggled with food in a bigger way then weight and allergies, though those factors have also been quite prominent.
Growing up Sicilian, meat and wheat were heavy staples in my diet as most family functions revolved around a massive table of meatballs, sausage, cured meats, pasta and cheese. Not the most healthy options at bigger family gatherings, but my mother did try to tone down our fattier proteins in exchange for leaner ones and really pushed whole grains and veggies in our day to day diet.
For me though, I always left the dinner table lethargic and bloated regardless of what I ate, regardless of how much or when I ate it. That lethargic feeling followed me into my teens and young adulthood. While my friends scarfed down slices of pizza or doughnuts, pop and juice, I watched in horror because I couldn’t understand how they could go from doughnuts and pop to playing a quarter of basket ball or an inning of softball because like I said, no matter what I ate, I never felt comfortable afterward, especially eating those things.
But, those things did end up in my diet, despite how they made me feel because I never could tell what was making me feel so awful all of the time. The older I got, the more I realized that doughnuts and pop were for sure things I could live without. Then pizza and other products with dairy were eliminated.
Then last summer when my doctor suggested that I have my gallbladder removed because of chronic indigestion, constipation combined with persistent acid reflux and nausea, I seized the moment to make a serious life choice. I spoke up in the middle a flurry of tests and asked my doctor to tell me the truth about changing my diet and possible food allergies we might not be considering.
That is when he told me a little about gluten intolerance and lactose intolerance. Working at a natural food market that caters to people with special dietary restrictions, I quickly learned that I am not the only one who responds this way to wheat and dairy. As it turns out, I had also made the right choice for myself by cutting grain fed and hormone filled meat from my diet. If it wasn’t grass fed for life and free of antibiotics, I didn’t want much to do with it. As a result, meat became less of a staple in my diet, which helped ease some of the stress my body was creating for itself.
So after a year of pairing down my gluten intake in an effort to ease some past gastrointestinal distress, I recently made the decision to begin supplementing my diet. The lethargy and bloating has decreased to less than half of what I grew up experiencing which I can attribute to reducing the GMO foods in my diet by replacing them with organic produce, limiting my meat consumption, especially from animals raised on corn and hormones—and generally just making more educated decisions. But my body’s relationship with food still isn’t where I’d like it to be, so I did a little research.
I came up with two options for supplementing my diet based on that research: Digestive Enzymes and Probiotics. About a month ago, I began to take the enzymes after attending an educational seminar for that particular product. Used as directed, the indigestion I often experienced began to decline. Upon taking the enzymes for about a month, I was still interested in finding something that I could really stick with. The results from the enzymes were great, though if I was going to spend my hard earned money on a monthly supplement aside from my trusty vitamins C and D, I’d want a bit more bang for my buck.
So today, I picked up a bottle of probiotics which contain 15 Billion strains of positive bacteria that are supposed to benefit not only my digestion, but also support my skin and respiratory development, as well as promote a slew of other positive aspects including weight management. From here on out, I hope to keep our readers posted on the results, as I have a feeling they will be promising.
Research on the use of a probiotic formula is extensive and with our entire immune system on the line, to me, the small investment seems like a worthwhile cause. Stay tuned for a weekly update.