I grew up in a hispanic home where you couldn’t say no to grandma’s food. You were to always say yes to whatever was made that day at home. With all that said this was never a burden because grandma always cooked something delicious. You never questioned what she made because you knew it would be something special. I come from a family where half has Type 1 Diabetes and other half has Type 2 so I have always been “health” conscious but never had I been “food” conscious.

When I reached my final years of high school I decided to start eating “clean” and exercising. This when I started to become more aware of what I put in my body. What first began as a “lifestyle” change to eat cleaner to slim down turned into a realization of what I was putting in my body. It was no longer worrying about how much I weighed but what I was consuming. If you’re also hispanic you know that “diets” are a big NO. As soon as I decided that I wanted to be healthier my parents were upset that I “did not want to eat”. In their eyes I had to eat huge amounts of carbs, lard, and NEVER count calories or worry. They thought I was obsessed with exercising. Throughout the years they’ve embraced my healthy lifestyle because they’ve faced some harsh health issues due to their diet. They’ve now accepted that this isn’t a “diet” or a “phase” it's a lifestyle that I’ve chosen.

Now that I am an adult I’ve reached a dilemma! I’ve recently started having so many stomach problems. This may be very specific but after I eat I experience: nausea, stomach aches, gas, EXTREME bloating, acid reflex, etc. It feels like whatever I put in my stomach creates some kind of discomfort. Then about 2 months ago, I had another scare and I thought I was having a heart attack. I felt so much pain in my chest only to find out that my heart was healthy.  So I went to see my doctor. At first she thought I was pre-diabetic or had some kind of food intolerance.Then she told me that I was experiencing really bad acid reflex. So she ran a LOT of tests and I found that i'm allergic to peanuts, corn, and sesame seeds! I found this to be very weird as I've been eating these items ALL my life. That’s ALL the information she gave me and then sent me away. Does anyone else get frustrated at this?

For the last year I’ve been practicing a vegan diet for a few weeks to see how I felt and I can honestly I have never felt happier. My husband and I also have agreed to occasionally do “Meatless Mondays” or we have vegan lunches throughout the week. I feel clean, fresh, and I love knowing that I am putting something wholesome in my body. Everytime I finish these vegan weeks I find it hard to go back to dairy and meat. This is VERY strange because I’ve grown up on cereal and milk my whole life! Let’s not forget my obsession with cheese!

I have reached a point where I’m rediscovering what foods I love and what I really want in my body. Everyday I find myself gagging at the thought that I eat dead animals and that I drink “juices” from animals that they put in jugs/cartons and then we have NO IDEA how long they’ve been bottled up (milk). EW! At this time, I don’t know what I like, all I know is that I LOVE fruits and vegetables and raw foods. I enjoy having lunches with my vegan friends and I feel happy. I don’t want to spend years trying to find out what food intolerances I have and don’t have, i’d rather enjoy nature’s foods and feel better. I’ve found that it helps declutter the body, mind, and also helps me stay in shape!