First Post

I started this blog with to keep track of changes in my diet and health while I experiment with some stuff. Basically about 2 years ago I started changing the food I eat in order to try to fix my super-sensitive digestive system, gain weight, and be healthy. So far things have gotten better but not nearly enough. First a little background:

In winter 2006 I made quite a few changes. I cut out dairy, red meats, fried food, and high-fat food in general. I started learning to like fish and vegetables which I now love and live off of. I also ate lots of rice, white bread, potatoes and other carbs at the advice of numerous doctors who told me it would ‘settle my stomach’ and help me gain weight. Right..

In winter 2007 I got mono. It was pretty normal and the worst of it passed in a couple weeks (insane sore throat omg!) and then I was tired for a while (also trying to finish up a semester of school, I’d be tired anyway) and then I was fine. Summer went ok, no major sickness. End of August for some reason wasn’t feeling well, super tired, had fever, went on antibiotics 3 times (wrong diagnosis) and since then things have been not so great. I realize now that the antibiotics really have taken a toll on me.

Sometimes people recover from antibiotics properly and sometimes they don’t. Basically antibiotics will wipe out the good bacteria (and bad) in the digestive system. Once you’re done the medication, it’s a crap-shoot as to what repopulates. If bad bacteria gets there first or yeast builds up to abnormal levels, it can cause problems. It can also be really hard to get good bacteria back up to normal levels. I have been taking probiotics for over a year now but it hasn’t been enough.

Over the past few months I’ve become a lot more interested in nutrition. I have made more changes to my diet including eliminating gluten (wheat, rye, barley, etc) and corn. Substitutions for these grains include quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, and sweet potatoes. I changed to eating mostly organic fruits and vegetables to get as much nutrients as possible from my diet (organic produce has been shown to have higher levels of vitamins). I started seeing a naturopath to try and help me figure things out (and for someone to talk to when I’m about to go crazy!). I’m doing ok, but still don’t have much energy and haven’t gained weight.

So, I have a lot of theories and ideas as to why I haven’t been the able to be a healthy person even though I eat healthier than anyone I know and exercise routinely. I will be sharing here what my ideas are, what my plans are, and what I try in my attempt to fix myself since doctors don’t seem to be too helpful 😉