Recently, I’ve been having some health issues, especially after eating. Because of this, I have been forced into changing my eating habits. Yes, forced! Not that it is a bad thing at all, but the reason is a strange one.
Before I tell you why I’ve been forced into changing how I eat, let me give you a brief history of my family. There are certain gastro issues and diseases that run in my family: Crohn’s Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and now Dumping Syndrome. Because of this family history, I am more prone to have some gastro issues as well.
Years ago, I went to the doctor to see why I was having issues with cramping, nausea, sweating and most of all needing to use the restroom within 15 to 20 minutes of eating. Sometimes this wouldn’t occur until a few hours after I ate. My doctor at the time told me to take medication 30 minutes before eating, and I would be fine. He also said that it is caused by rich foods. I didn’t like having to take pills every time I ate and stopped.
Fast forward to this year. I had begun to have all those same problems again and decided to figure out what was really causing it. After speaking with my doctor and doing a little research, I found out that fatty foods are most likely the reason behind my stomach issues. For a week straight I kept a log of all the food I ate, what time and also my reaction to it (if there was one). Sure enough, any type of fatty or rich food would set off my stomach issues.
With that in mind, I have adjusted my eating accordingly. Good bye to most fast food — which I shouldn’t eat anyway — sweets, and other high fat foods. I’m eating more fruits, veggies, lean meats and whole grains — things that I had tried to focus on in the past but could never stick with. Now that I have a serious reason to, I will definitely practice healthier eating habits. Keeping the food diary also is very helpful to me and my doctor. I want to try to avoid medicines and procedures, so the new eating guidelines are my best bet.
Hopefully, now that I know what is going on and why, I can make the appropriate changes and start to feel much better.
Have you had to make a change because of a medical condition? What kind of changes did you make and how has life changed since making those adjustments?
Tags: eating healthy, food journals, gastrointestinal diseases, meal planning
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