Photographs courtesy of 3haus photography.
Food is medicine.
There is nothing I believe more strongly than that when it comes to health. Food has the power to cause disease as well as prevent and even cure disease.
In my case food caused me to suffer from severe chronic diarrhea, headaches, skin rashes, fatigue and poor sleep. When my symptoms were at their worst, I was having diarrhea up to ten times per day. I had to plan my life around the nearest bathroom and had to give up many of the things that I loved like eating out at restaurants, running, and high intensity exercise. I spent many days in bed so sick that I couldn’t even make it out of the house. And unfortunately for me, no physician ever thought that what I was eating could be the cause of my symptoms. They reassured me that I didn’t have Celiac Disease, Crohn’s or Ulcerative Colitis and that I should be thankful for that. Diet was never even considered to be a factor. I had to learn this on my own. And like many things in life, sometimes the biggest struggles that we face become our biggest success stories.
In order to find a way to heal my body I initially turned to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (also known as the SCD diet). I saw dramatic improvements in my health by changing to that diet. However, SCD wasn’t perfect for me, so since then I have experimented with many other dietary protocols including paleo, the autoimmune paleo (AIP), the gut and psychology syndrome (GAPS) diet and a grain-free low FODMAP diet. What do all of these diets have in common? They are grain free, and focus on wholesome, nourishing ingredients that are free from processing, additives and chemicals. This is the food that my body thrives on, and this is the food that humans were meant to eat. I now eat a paleo diet style diet, with a few additions. This seems to be the ideal diet for me. But it took me years of experimentation to figure this out. Because what works for one person doesn’t work for everyone. This is a crucial point. When it comes to food, everyone is individual. There is no prescription, one-size-fits-all diet that works for everyone. What will allow one person to thrive can have devastating results for others. This is one of the reasons why you will never see great “scientific evidence” when it comes to treating diseases with nutrition. It is extremely challenging to study, and there is no profit to be made from treating chronic illness with food. A sad but true fact.
Through this blog I want to show you that healthy food can still be delicious and fun to make and that changing to a real foods based diet really can help your body heal, and shouldn’t feel restrictive. On this site you will find recipes that comply with many different diets. Whether it be paleo, AIP, GAPS, SCD, Whole30, Vegan or low FODMAP, there is something here for everyone. The one thing that all of my recipes have in common is that they are all gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free and most are grain free.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. I am always happy to give advice, and I love hearing from readers.
Happy eating everyone!
DISCLAIMER: The statements made on this website have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration or Health Canada. The information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. You assume full responsibility for how you use this information. Always consult with your physician or other health professionals before making any diet or lifestyle changes.