Since I have become an adult, my diet has been what most north americans would consider quite healthy. I have not had to deal with any chronic illness, and because of my body type it is fairly easy to maintain a certain weight. But I have known enough about health and nutrition to know that I could be so much healthier. I simply did not have the motivation to pursue it.
My eldest daughter was born 6 years ago. I had a long but wonderful labour and delivery. And she started life healthy and happy and whole. But three months later, the colic started. She would scream every night, off and on from 11 pm to 4 am. And even when she wasn't screaming she wouldn't be able to settle, she would squirm and wriggle until she started screaming again. It was awful. And while so many people would say "some babies are just like that," I knew that she was in pain, and she wasn't "just like that." There was something wrong.
A couple of months like that and the colic became easier to cope with. It still happened, but not as frequently. But then the eczema started. And it was awful, too. I have seen very few babies with eczema like that. She would end rub her hands on the carpets sometimes until they bled. I never wanted to use cortisone cream, but would resort to it when her skin would begin weeping from the sores. We found creams and oils to use on her skin that helped to soften it, keep the itch down and kept her from scratching so badly, but it never went away. We were told that hopefully, someday, she would grow out of it. But again, I new that there must be something wrong.
This went on for months. I began to research on mother's diet impacting babies through the milk. And while many sources said it shouldn't, others said that it can. So I cut out dairy products for several weeks. That was the first that made sense, since I have family members who cannot tolerate dairy. It seemed as if nothing happened. I tried cutting out eggs. Again, it seemed as if nothing happened. After months of trying and nothing getting better, I was at my wits end. I decided to go on a full elimination diet.
Finally, things got better for her. It took several weeks, but her skin began to clear, and she didn't scream any more. But the struggle was trying to figure out what was causing her problems. With a full elimination diet, there is so much cut out that it is difficult to know which foods could have been causing the problems.
Shortly after this, she managed to get her hands on a peanut and ate it for the first time. She seemed fine, and I took her to bed around an hour later. An hour after that she began to fuss and I went to get her up. I was shocked. Her face, ears, hands and feet were all swollen to nearly twice their normal size. We gave her benedryl, but she wasn't struggling for breath, so we decided to race her to the hospital instead of calling an ambulance. Because she was breathing fine, the nurses didn't give her an epinephrine shot. They told us to watch her, give her benedryl if she was uncomfortable, and take her home to rest.
Very soon after that her doctor made an appointment with an allergist to have her tested. Her allergens that came back were peanuts (surprise, surprise!), cashews, walnuts, pistachios, eggs and dairy products. I immediately cut those from my diet as well as hers (she had begun to eat solid foods by this point) and everything got better. Her skin healed, she was much more restful at night, it was much easier for her to go to sleep, she didn't get tummy aches anymore, and she had a much easier time going to the bathroom.
I eliminated all her allergens from my diet for the time she breastfed. There were things I missed so much, cheese and peanut butter particularly. But I realized the impact that it had on her. My peanut butter toast as a bed time snack is what caused so much of her early pain, I'm sure of it. And breastfeeding her was more important to me then having my snacks I wanted when there was other food I could eat.
All this time I did a lot of reading on nutrition. Particularly about gut healing. I kept things up for my second daughter as well. When I was pregnant with my son, and my daughter had weaned, I let it go and began to eat dairy and eggs again. I knew I didn't feel great eating them, and that I really didn't need them, but I had missed eating them. But when my son was born, I noticed several weeks later that he seemed to be struggling with gas frequently. Not like the colic his sister had had, but enough I thought it would be worth trying to eliminate eggs and dairy again. Immediately things were better. He would spit up more then his sisters did, but didn't have pain anymore, unless I slipped up.When my mom came for a visit, we thought maybe I should just try going gluten free to see if his spitting up stopped. She was gluten and dairy free, so I could just try eating the same as her while she was there. It worked. His reflux stopped. So I kept going with it.
As I did, I realized *I* felt better. I was very careful to make sure I was getting fully balanced nutrition. And water. Water, water, water! I needed to drink so much. I didn't feel boated at all anymore. My guts just felt "lighter." I don't know how else to describe it. It took less food for me to feel full. I had more energy, my mood was better. I was able to think more clearly. It wasn't as hard to remember the words I wanted to use anymore. I was more patient. And I lost a lot of weight very quickly. For a little while I was afraid that I was loosing too much weight. But my face didn't look unhealthy, I had good skin tone and colour. Eventually my weight loss tapered off and I have maintained it since.
I knew I felt better. But I don't think I realized how drastic difference was in my health because so busy taking care of a new born with some special needs, and two other kids.
After my son weaned, it was close to to Christmas. I let it all slide again. There were so many family traditions around food that I was still so attached to. It was so hard to let go of it. I limited myself, and only had a little bit. But I still ate it regularly. And even when the Christmas season was over, I didn't switch back.
At one point, in January, I had been having a really rough week. Nothing bad had happened, but I was just down, and irritable and I was beginning to feel very defeated. I realized that I was likely beginning to sink into a depression and decided to eliminate gluten, dairy and eggs again to see if it would clear up my state of mind. Within three days, I felt better. And the bloating went away again.
Since then I have found other things that I don't tolerate well. Corn, soy and sugar being among them, as well as beef. I also put a lot of research into all the nutrients and calories I need in my regular diet. And I try to drink a lot of water. At least two litres and preferably three every day.
I can't believe how much better I feel. The brain fog being lifted is so wonderful. After having my oldest it was always so frustrating to feel like my thinking was muddy, or I couldn't find my words, or it took my longer to figure out what to say. But now, sometimes I feel like my brain works quicker then it did when I was in university. When I learn, it is quicker, easier and sticks so much better. My shift between topics of study is so fast now. I have fewer days that I feel "just blah," when I don't feel sick, but I don't feel good either. It is so much easier to be patient with the people around me. I don't feel as reactionary. My periods are shorter, lighter, and cramp free.
I am still in process, and haven't finished my healing. I have some struggles with my gall bladder still. But they are not nearly as bad as when I was eating gluten. I had pain everyday, sometimes twice. Now I have pain once or twice a week, and it is not nearly a bad. And sometimes I feel like I can't resist the attachment to some food I've eliminated. But each time I do that, it reinforces what I know. That it is not good for me, and I am happier and healthier without it.
I love feeling this way. I feel so grateful for the love and respect I have been able to gain for my body on this journey. It can do some miraculous things. I love seeing my body functioning better then it has since I was a teenager. I love having the energy and capacity to pursue so many other things that I love. I love having the energy to keep up with my kids. And I love knowing that the food I eat now is not only enjoyable to eat, but it is good for me.
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